The world premiere of
”
Auctioning the Ainsleys
”
by Laura Schellhardt starts the 41st season of grand theatre
that TheatreWorks continues to offer.
The world premiere of “Auctioning the Ainsleys” by Laura Schellhardt starts the 41st season of grand theatre that TheatreWorks continues to offer.
The story is about a family of professional auctioneers who have to face change and let go of personal objects, mental haunting and habits.
Schellhardt leads us into areas that show how they became the way they are, how narrow their lives have become and how they must resolve their situation.
Alice Ainsley (Diane Dorsey), the head of the family, sees her last days approaching and finds herself forgetting about parts of her life and her possessions. She lives in the upper part of the Ainsley house and communicates with her family through an intercom. She hires Arthur (Lance Gardner), an assistant secretary of sorts, to record her rambling thoughts and keep track of her disjointed family – all of whom live in different parts of the house and all seem to respond to a different tune.
Her son, Aidan, gets articles ready for auction and cleans or dirties objects up (depending on how they are to be presented). He lives in the basement void of furniture and any possible clutter. One of her daughters, Annalee (Molly Anne Coogan), is the accounting end of the business and has her own method of organization and filing, including stapling statements and bills to her clothing and her beloved desk.
Amelia (Jessica Lynn Carroll), the seemingly most mentally delicate of the group, lives in the carriage house where her greatest satisfaction is matching sets for the sales. We are introduced to Avery (Heidi Kettenring) as the one who got away. She was trained and bullied by her father to be the gavel handler. She had left in furious frustration 15 years ago in the middle of the night. They really have little interaction with one another, but mix this bunch up and you get a vortex of dysfunctional disorder that brings humor and pathos to the arena.
Annie Smart’s sets are true scene stealers here. Scenes swirl within one another to change locations of the areas in play as actors walk from one door into another or up some stairs to be where they are suppose to be. It’s a truly remarkable work in the art of scenic design.
Meredith McDonough directs with a delicate brush, which comes off more in pastels than bright hues. She keeps the pace and actors interesting.
A potpourri of comedy, drama and a smidgen of mystery keep the audience alert. Playing keep up with the storyline makes for an enjoyable evening.
