By Marilyn Jozwik
After a long Covid-induced hiatus, The Constructivists have opened their season with the alluring Jen Silverman play, “Wink,” directed by Jaimelyn Gray.
The show is offbeat. You’ll see a man wearing fur shorts, a woman tearing the fluffy insides out of a pillow, a psychotherapist making out with his carpet and a cat seeking revenge.
The story revolves around Wink. Wink is a cat. Who is missing. And it seems a terrible fate has befallen him at the hand of Gregor (Ekene Ikegwuani), the husband of Wink’s owner, Sophie (Rebekah Farr), who is distraught over the loss. The couple has been hanging on to their unhappy marriage and separately seeing the same therapist, the eccentric Dr. Frans (Matthew Scales), who keeps their emotions in check and their relationship duct-taped together. The cat situation causes even more stress in their marriage, but creates opportunities for some quirky and sometimes hilarious dialogue and action, which this cast handles brilliantly – with energy, expert timing and physicality. By the show’s end, the characters have gone through quite a wild metamorphosis in quest of their true natures.
Dr. Frans (Matthew Scales), left, meets with Gregor (Ekene Ikegwuani) in a scene from The Constructivists “Wink.” Photo credit: Testaduro Media, LLC
These performers have poured every ounce of their being into this show and the opening night audience was most receptive, with frequent chuckles and guffaws at Silverman’s light and dark humor.
Silverman easily conveys her themes. Through the characters’ rants, the audience sees how people today rigidly follow conventions, hold back emotions and desires in order to conform, work until their shoulders droop. Says Dr. Frans, “I want to do terrible things to people who look happy.”
Wink the cat is the perfect contrast to the conforming humans. As Wink says, “If something doesn’t give me pleasure, I wouldn’t do it.” He starts Dr. Frans thinking about those things we take for granted. At one point he asks Dr. Frans, “Why do you wear clothes under your clothes?”
Sophie (Rebekah Farr), left, and Wink (Jaime Jastrab) get a chance to chat in a scene from The Constructivists “Wink.” Photo credit: Testaduro Media, LLC
As Wink, Jaime Jastrab is an ethereal figure. He fairly purrs when he talks and slinks when he walks, the eye of the storm of the humans around him. Wink throws Dr. Frans’ ordered life off center.
Silverman’s fantasy allows the human characters to play big and they use every bit of the stage in pouring their passion into the story.
As Sophie, Farr does so much emoting with body language and facial expressions she hardly needs to speak for the audience to know what she’s feeling. And, in fact, she doesn’t speak at all as the only character in one scene.
Ikegwuani’s Gregor is intense, yet Ikegwuani handles comedy deftly. As Dr. Frans, Scales wrings out all the right tones. The doctor-patient couch scenes are a riot, while Dr. Frans’ scenes with Wink are moving and tinged with sexuality. The scene in which Wink teaches Dr. Frans how to stand like a cat is pitch perfect.
As the characters orderly life changes, so does the set, moving from neat as a pin to total disorder when the characters let go of their pent-up emotions. Sarah Harris handled set and costume design for the show, while Ellie Rabinowitz did the lighting design. Les Zarzecki was in charge of technical direction and set construction.
The show is a little over an hour and the scenes short, with monosyllabic chants during the speedy set changes keeping the off-beat tone of the play.
If you go:
Who: The Constructivists
What: “Wink”
When: Through Nov. 6
Where: Broadway Theatre Center Studio, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee
Info/Tickets: theconstructivists.org; 414-858-6874