Arts

A Fine Fabric

by Jules Becker
Wednesday Oct 3, 2018

Vicuna, Zeitgeist Stage Company, Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, through October 7. 617-933-8600

Donald Trump is never mentioned by name in the 2016 satire "Vicuna," but talented playwright Jon Robin Baitz ("Our Desert Cities") clearly meant for theatergoers to call him to mind when he wrote it. At the start of the play, businessman-presidential candidate Kurt Seaman—his last name surely alludes to the sexual adventurousness of the now President—is preparing for the last of three debates with a female opponent—herself never identified but unquestionably Hillary Clinton.

Quite simply Seaman is fitted for a suit made from the very expensive title fabric, one he hopes will make his candidacy magical. Ultimately, Baitz's play may need some tailoring of its own, but Zeitgeist Stage Company's area premiere at the Boston Center for the Arts proves custom-made.

Set in the recent past at the Manhattan atelier of aging bespoke Jewish tailor Anselm Kassar, "Vicuna" finds Seaman making what may be an impossible demand for the outfit in question three weeks before the debate.

Anselm has made such suits for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Henry Kissinger for $50,000. For this 'rush job' he charges $150,000—an amount Seaman readily accepts. The veteran tailor observes that such a suit provides "a look into the soul of a man."

There is a subtle moment when Baitz—both out and Jewish himself—hints that Anselm is gay and therefore all the more wary of Seaman himself.

Seaman's verbal attacks on the likes of women, immigrants and Muslims and his self-centered life a la Trump suggest that he may lack a real soul. By contrast, Anselm's Iranian-Muslim apprentice Amir Masoud comes across as both soulful about life and passionate about the tailoring Anselm is mentoring.

Working on Seaman's suit with a skill Anselm once possessed, Amir struggles to contain his anger about Seaman's anti-immigrant and racist views—an anger that could jeopardize the completion of the job and the safety of his parents as immigrants.

Complicating things even further is the entrance of Seaman's Ivanka-like daughter Sri-Lanka. Like Trump's daughter, Sri Lanka is married to the Orthodox Jewish son of a notorious real estate agent—here, too, a la unnamed Jared Kushner.

Baitz's character appears to have a more consistent moral imperative than her real counterpart as she pushes back against her father's arrogance and bigoted views in an effort "to prevent a catastrophe." In a different way, former Republican Senator and party leader Kitty Finch-Gibbon tries to avert a disaster by offering Seaman billions of dollars to drop out of the 2016 election.

Will Sri Lanka and/or Finch-Gibbon succeed? Will Seaman find his suit as magical as he hopes? Baitz supplies a surprise regarding the suit itself that audience members should enjoy. Equally satisfying is a kind of Sartrean epilogue that doubles as a wake-up call for the millions of Americans concerned about the demagoguery and dangerousness of a Seaman.

"Vicuna" may take its time arriving at that epilogue—judicious trimming is called for, but Baitz has written a prescient play that should prove timely many years from now.

Zeitgeist artistic director David J. Miller has assembled a cast as skillful as Amir's work on Seaman's suit. Steve Auger displays terrific authority as Seaman—properly cagey and egotistical in both speech and body language. Robert Bonotto—always a riveting Zeitgeist regular—smartly understate Anselm's general reserve and fires up his contrasting frustration. Jaime Hernandez, a standout as Amir, captures his escalating angst and enduring respect for Anselm.

Srin Chakravorty, scarily resembling Ivanka, wisely avoids impersonation and turns in a finely realized portrayal of Sri Lanka. Evelyn Holley has the right desperation as Finch-Gibbon.

Miller, always a design wizard transforming the Black Box Theatre, lines up handsome suit options on one side of the Atelier and authentic-looking fitting rooms on the other. Elizabeth Cole Sheehan's costumes for the male and female characters complement their very different roles. Michael Clark Wonson's nuanced lighting sharply reflects moments of diffidence as well as domineering.

If you think Baitz's play is a dry reiteration of today's headlines, think again. "Vicuna" has the look and life of fine fabric, and Zeitgeist has tailored it with painstak