First Night Review: Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo @ The Marquette Theatre

The Rose Tattoo, now playing at the Marquette Theatre (photo credit: Brittany Werner)

​Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo @ The Marquette Theatre
Review by Dorian Hatchett

​Comedy as a reaction to the pain of humanity seems like a natural tool of the witty and somber playwright. In The Rose Tattoo, Tennessee Williams wields wit and wisdom like knives, stripping away social convention and leaving behind the hilarious, awkward truth: being human is an inherently ridiculous thing.

One of the most beautiful qualities of Tennessee Williams Theatre Company's productions is their flawless casting. Kristin Witt as Serafina clings to memory as a stabilizing force. The ghost of her late husband is a blanket she wraps around herself to insulate her from the realities of the world. As many parents do, she assumes her daughter Rosa (Lauren Van Mullem) will take after her perfectly, and so Rosa’s rebellious desire to involve herself in society feels like a betrayal to Serafina. 

This betrayal only adds to the strained parent-teenager relationship, and there's explosive chemistry between Witt and Van Mullem, believable even in its hyperbolic affectation. Add in generational strife between an immigrant and her first generation American child, and the recipe for conflict is complete. 

Alvaro Mangiacavallo is played by Nick DiJulio. The character yearns for a place in the world, in love with love and desperate to belong to someone else. His entirely chance meeting with Serafina is electric with possibility, and he is laser focused on making her the center of his world like the final puzzle piece to his imagined happiness.

No measure of romantic gesture is too great for his intended, including intentionally making himself irresistible to her by putting on the identity of her late husband like a mask he’s trying on. DiJulio is frantic and hilarious in the character of Mangiacavallo, with endless energy for the things he wants and exactly none for the things he doesn’t.  

Alex Martinez Wallace as the black goat is physical comedy personified. He moves in and out of the fourth wall as a delightful chaos agent (Wallace is also the show’s violence coordinator, which seems incredibly apropos for someone who channels a goat so well). His mischief is only barely contained by the Strega (Janet Shea) whose ambiguous malice may or may not be imagined by Serafina. Ms. Shea has a lifelong familiarity with the play, having played Rosa much earlier in her career.  

Set designer Nathan Arthur has once again delivered a flexible, expansive environment in a very small space. Together with lighting design (Diane K. Bass), the movement through space and time is palpable, even on an unchanging background. The characters on stage are inseparable from the actors thanks to that deft casting, and it's another masterful portrayal by the company of the giant personalities in Williams’ vision. 

The Rose Tattoo plays through August 9th at the Marquette Theatre at Loyola University. Click here for show information and ticketing​

---