SpeakEasy’s “Pru Payne” Is A Must See for Fans of Fabulous Theater

Karen MacDonald and Gordon Clapp in SpeakEasy Stage Company’s production of Pru Payne.
Photo: Nile Scott Studios

“Pru Payne”— Written by Steven Drukman. Directed by Paul Daugneault. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage at Boston Center for the Arts, Calderwood Pavillion, 539 Tremont St., Boston, through Nov. 16.

By Shelley A. Sackett

Karen MacDonald, recently introduced as “the empress of Boston,” adds another gem to her tiara with her portrayal of Prudence Payne, a Dorothy Parker-esque reviewer whose sharp wit, acid tongue and encyclopedic familiarity with minutiae of all things cultural have earned her many awards. We are introduced to her as she and her son, Thomas (De’Lon Grant) sit in the Brook Hollow clinic anteroom, awaiting a consultation with a doctor. The television is blaring pablum. Pru regally grabs the remote, waves it like a magic wand. She tries to turn the television set off, but can’t. She retakes her seat, slumping in confused defeat. Thomas reminds her that there are other people in the room who may want to continue watching. “Re. Member,” Pru says, enunciating each letter as if it were a syllable unto itself.

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Theater Mirror Talks with Emmy Award-winning Actor Gordon Clapp, on returning to Boston for Speakeasy Stage’s ‘Pru Payne’

Karen MacDonald and Gordon Clapp in the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of Pru Payne. Photo: Nile Scott Studios

Gordon Clapp, best known for his Emmy-winning role of Detective Greg Medavoy in the long-running TV series NYPD Blue, returns to the Boston stage for the second time this year, following up his acclaimed portrayal of poet Robert Frost (Robert Frost: This Verse Business) last spring. This time around, Clapp appears in Pru Payne, an unlikely love story set in a memory care unit by Pulitzer Prize nominee and Newton native Steven Drukman (“Another Fine Mess”). Clapp plays a retired custodian who falls in love with the title character, a contemporary Dorothy Parker type whose memory is failing. The cast includes Boston theater stalwarts Karen MacDonald, Marianna Bassham, Greg Maraio, and De’Lon Grant, and runs through November 16th at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts.

Theater Mirror spoke with Clapp during the rehearsal process.

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