Grand Madame

Madame Douce-Amere

by David Anthony Fox

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Published: Oct 18, 2006

It's easy to fall in love with Madame Douce-Amère because Madame Delpech-Ramey is irresistible. She has the kind of mobile face the French call jolie laide, and it's alive to every emotional nuance. (She looks like a younger Marian Seldes, and DR's talent is on a par.) Her physical embodiment of the character — from youth to age, in despair or joy — is absolute. Did I mention she never says a word? She doesn't need to. Madame DR is a marvelous clown and a fine actress.

It's my personal bias, but I prefer the actress part. Madame Douce-Amère soars to magnificent heights in the segments closest to narrative — the first seconds where she meets her man, courts him and loses him; also a dream sequence where the now-old Madame remembers herself young is an unforgettable, lump-in-your-throat moment.

In between, there's a bit more standard clownishness, though of a very high order. Madame DA, a rambunctious older woman, interacts with the audience — she's coquettish, a bit rude and always keeps us on our toes. The opening night attendees enjoyed themselves thoroughly, but for me this kind of semi-invasive game-playing (if you've seen Cirque du Soleil, you know what I mean) goes on too long. Delpech-Ramey's ingenuity and élan never flag — but my patience did, at least briefly.

It's a small quibble, though, amid so much wonderful, imaginative theater-making. The direction (by David Brick) and design are elegant, and like Madame DR, they make much of little. I should certainly point out also that Delpech-Ramey is not the only performer — James Sugg, who appears as the lover and accompanies the action on his accordion, is a fine actor in his own right, as well as a superlative musician. His interaction with Madame suggests countless hours of rehearsal, but in fact Sugg stepped in on rather short notice, when the original male partner was unable to come to Philadelphia. That partner, by the way, played the violin. Madame Douce-Amère needed some quick reworking.

There can't be many situations in which an accordion is an improvement on a violin, but this may be one.

(d_fox@citypaper.net)

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