I get Frank Bryant in Willy Russell's 1980 two-hander Educating Rita; not that I've played the role, though I have costarred in a play with a similar setup, David Mamet's Oleanna (1993). In that show, a female student compensates for intellectual weaknesses by accusing her male professor of sexist behavior. In Educating Rita, on the other hand, the student, Susan White aka Rita, is desperate to learn, a trial she accepts as necessary to escape her domestic drudge of an existence. Frank, a jaded man given to drink, suspects academia's a wonderful way of pointing young students toward classics and the rational, classic modes of thought, but it doesn't make them any wiser or even smarter. I think every professor (or ex-professor) understands that worry.
As I watched Olympia Little Theatre's production of Educating Rita, a show it essentially ported over from Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia, I was reminded of both Oleanna and another play in love with English poetry, Margaret Edson's Wit. In this production, John Pratt (Premiere!) embodies Frank. Kaaren Spanski-Dreffin, one of Pratt's former students in real life, plays Susan; and for two and a half hours, it's just them and Russell's words. That makes their memorization incredibly difficult, so yes, I did catch a few bobbles here and there. It's also absorbing, for both actors and audience, and I found this show clever and deep - a combination few scripts manage to pull off.
Pratt's about two generations older than Spanski-Dreffin, an age difference greater than Russell specified in his script. That creates opportunities while making a few lines uncomfortably lecherous. Spanski-Dreffin addresses those issues by blowing them off, which at least gets past them quickly. She's quite good here, I think, giving Susan a credible arc. Her accent sounded more Irish than Liverpudlian, but that worked for the character without getting in the way of the play's comments on English class distinctions. Pratt's a good fit for his character, even if his Oxford accent made but scattered appearances. Still, Frank's wit and erudition are as believable here as his alcoholism, and Pratt handles a stage fall with the best of 'em.
This is a classy production, for community or any kind of theater. Even better, it's funny. We root for Rita - as we did for Russell's equally popular title character, Shirley Valentine - and admire the play's skillful glide into Pygmalion territory. This production boasts deep thoughts, rich emotions, quotable quips, and an amusing array of hideous 1980s fashion choices for Rita (though only a couple for Frank). I do wish Pratt, adjusting the direction of Evergreen Playhouse's Norma Rogers for OLT's space, found more opportunities to show our upstage-right seating the front of his head, as by placing his desk closer to upstage center. All in all, though, Rita gets the edutainment she deserves.
EDUCATING RITA, 7:55 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1:55 p.m. Sunday, through Feb. 23, Olympia Little Theatre, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia, $10-$14, 360.786.9484
