Stage Review - The Bed Trick (Seattle Shakespeare)

Stage Review - The Bed Trick
Presented By: Seattle Shakespeare Company - Seattle, WA
Show Run: March 20 - April 07, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, March 22, 2024 (Opening Night)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

Funny story….well, maybe it’s not exactly funny. Ironic? Ok, maybe not. I’ll go with it being an “interesting” story….when I took my seat at the Center Theatre at Seattle Center on Friday for opening night of The Bed Trick, the world premiere of the new play from Seattle playwright Keiko Green, a pair of folks sat down behind me and questioned why Seattle Shakespeare was showing a new play that has nothing to do with Shakespeare. I’m not sure if those folks expect this theatre company only to produce new versions of Shakespeare’s works, but knowing a bit about what The Bed Trick is about and having attended other shows that I would call Shakespeare-adjacent, shows inspired by or derivative of the Bard, I was probably a bit more open minded about it coming in, but if I’m confident about one thing from the opening night performance, it’s that The Bed Trick most likely changed their minds within its first five minutes. This is because of what Keiko Green has done with The Bed Trick, on stage through April 7 in a production directed by Makaela Milburn. Keiko has taken Shakespeare, modernized him, made him accessible, and presented a new perspective into a tricky situation depicted from his play All’s Well That Ends Well by writing a play that is the funniest and most completely entertaining show of the season.

You may not be familiar with the phrase that the play takes its name from, though I’m sure you are familiar with what it is. The bed trick refers to a situation in which, usually as part of revenge or some sort of trickery, one person intends to sleep with a particular person but instead finds that they’ve slept with someone completely different. It’s that situation in All’s Well That Ends Well that I referred to above, but you may be familar with it, as I was predominantly, from its use in pop culture, where for me it was Revenge of the Nerds. The debate, though, is, regardless of whether or not “things work out”, what does this act mean at its core? Interrogating the bed trick leads to a discussion around things like consent, and victimization. It’s pretty clear the road that one can go down and the conclusions that can be drawn from putting the pieces together, and in and of itself this debate could be settled pretty quickly, but what Keiko does with The Bed Trick is pure genius. She takes a situation, in which three college girls, who are each working their way though their own personal issues at the same time navigating the transition into adulthood, address this bed trick situation with multiple perspectives and points of view, making the debate and the argument not as clear as what it might seem to be at face value. Like any good piece of art, she doesn’t provide any answers to the question around whether the lack of consent inherent in the performance of the bed trick constitutes a more serious offense, but rather she leaves that up to us, the audience to rethink its predisposed opinion.

The Bed Trick starts out with a Shakespeare-esque prologue, delivered by actor Libby Bernard, who plays drama student Harriet, which like Shakespeare explains a lot about the plot and what the point of the show is. Following the prologue, and after a reveal of the set that puts Extreme Home Makeover to shame, the audience is introduced to the main characters, the three college girls around which the story revolves. Harriet the drama student is joined by friends and roommates Marianne (Sophia Franzella) and Lulu (Rachel Guyer-Mafune). Marianne is coming to terms with her parents’ divorce while Lulu is working through some issues with her boyfriend Willis. Relationships get tangled, Harriet tries to rationalize “that scene” in her group’s performance of All’s Well That Ends Well, and Marianne’s mother and father (Alexandra Tavares and MJ Sieber respectively) attempt to balance a divorce with the support of their daughter. The play is one of the best written pieces of theatre I’ve seen this season and without a doubt the funniest. From the prologue intro, through to the curtain dropping, it’s one laugh out loud moment after another, and yet the point of the play is never lost, the importance of the question at hand constantly at the forefront of the dialogue. The humor is inherent in the text of the play, but the way it’s delivered by this stellar cast is truly next level. Libby, Sophia, and Rachel nail their personifications of college girls, each with a disparate set of interests and very different personalities. Everything about their performances is hilarious, their comedy both physical and delivered through their spoken dialogue. Ricky Spaulding plays Lulu’s confused and conflicted boyfriend Willis in a role that shows how well his deadpan delivery is comedically. Alexandra and MJ contribute as well to the overall humor of the show in their roles, especially in the way Alexandra kicks off Act 2, but don’t get me wrong, in the parts of the show where each of these actors are called upon to turn up the serious volume, to provide their perspectives on the issue at hand, they do it, and do it well. The contrast of humor and gravity in The Bed Trick is in perfect balance. To put a fine point on the quality of this show, it’s like a juggernaut, once the humor starts, it doesn’t let up, and if the opening night audience’s constant laughter is any indication, it’s not just me that is enthusiastic about this production. This is surely something that should make Keiko Green, who was in attendance at the opening night performance, proud of her creation.

It’s easy to be distracted by the sheer amount of humor in The Bed Trick. When the laughter dies down after the show (well after the show), it’s only then that it becomes apparent how complex and layered of a show this is. It’s not a dissection of Shakespeare, but the way it’s constructed and presented, The Bed Trick is a modernization and one that makes him accessible to a number of generations. It’s structured like a Shakespeare play, it refers to him quite a bit, and uses his work to analyze the issue at hand. Beyond its structure, the way it tackles the idea of consent and what it means to provide it, or more importantly not to provide it, and the importance of keeping an open and honest dialogue with family and friends, and to do it in a way that is as funny as The Bed Trick is, is quite the feat.

The Bed Trick also makes the second show that I’ve seen in two nights with a scenic design from Parmida Ziaei, and both sets are superb, for Stew onstage currently at ACT Contemporary Theatre, and for this production. The college dorm that Harriet, Marianne, and Lulu share feels exactly like it’s supposed to, with a palette consisting of pinks and oranges, posters and pictures that a college student might have on her wall. On either side of the dorm room set are Benny’s office, he’s a college professor at the school the girls are attending, and a space that serves as a few different settings throughout. The side “stages” are hidden by a curtain/wall when not being used most of the time. At times the office is left visible after a scene where it is the focus, but with lights down. I like this, as the audience can see the continuation of the scene before, MJ still reacting to what happened with him or to him, it’s a unique choice that Makaela and her creative team made here, but one that works. Speaking of the creative team, Andrew D. Smith (lighting) and Evan Mosher (sound) don’t just support this production, they help make it a success with their work here, as does Andi Alhadeff and her costume design. On the costume front, I appreciate so much the work that Andi has done here, creating a wardrobe for parents on separate sides of a divorce and four college students, each with different personalities, personalities that are accentuated by their dress.

The Seattle Shakespeare production of The Bed Trick is a show that excels at every level. It starts with Keiko Green’s writing, which is presented extremely well by Director Makaela Milburn and her creative team, and performed expertly by a small but extremely talented cast. All of these pieces come together to create a piece of art that is both hilarious and thought provoking, with so much energy that once it starts it doesn’t stop, and you don’t want it to. To see The Bed Trick is to see excellence, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we haven’t seen the last of it. This show has legs and is most certainly going places. Until that happens, though, we’ll just have to appreciate the fact that Seattle Shakespeare has the funniest and most entertaining play on its stage right now.

The Bed Trick, written by Seattle playwright Keiko Green and presented by Seattle Shakespeare Company runs on stage at the Center Theatre at Seattle Center through April 7. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.seattleshakespeare.org/. Note that The Bed Trick deals with and contains adult situations and content and may not be suitable for some audiences.

Photo credit: Giao Nguyen