"Becoming Ingrid" would be less of a disappointment had the first act not presented such potential. Brimming with unanswered questions, intriguing alliances, and a brooding Scotland-set mystery to be unraveled, the show's engaging first half compelled.
Juggling accents and characters, most of the actors give strong performances. Meg Harkins as Christine is particularly affecting. In Scotland with her husband, Paul (a wooden Jeff Taylor) she arranges to study with her longtime literary idol, Ingrid (April Taylor, a nice presence without much to do). The quintessential fan, Christine ignores the mounting problems in her marriage, her vague compulsion to create art but inability to follow-through. Instead she focuses on getting close to Ingrid, even going so far as to move in across the courtyard from her, to cut her hair in a similar style. At the end of the first act, the audience is suspended, curious about Ingrid's dark secret, wondering if Christine will sidestep over the edge.
Sadly, it's as if writer Liza Lentini loses her nerve. Too gentle with her characters, she allows only the safest version of events to occur. (Spoilers to follow.) Having taken Christine on as an independent pupil, Ingrid encourages her to go against "fat, ugly" Faye Sumption, another teacher who, played by the tiny Heidi Katz, is jarringly neither (couldn't director Jamie Stires have reworded the script?). Christine confronts Ewan (energetic Billy Fenderson), a nasty classmate who is contesting a grade Ingrid conferred. Ingrid, in rapid succession, rips up drafts of her new book, suffers through the end of a romance, gives Christine a desk, admits to accidentally killing her son and husband while driving drunk, and returns to America, refusing to bend on Ewan's grade. The sexual conflict between Christine and Paul remains poised and untouched, although we think a miscarriage may have been the cause, and Christine seems implausibly happy about all of it.
In the end, "Becoming Ingrid" could have been written by Christine herself, an amateur fixated on writing as therapy, desperate to create something meaningful, but not skilled enough to know how.
Note: This show is located at 932 W. Wilson, Unit 2A. See the official website for details.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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