By Nicole M. Robertson
Perception is reality — especially if you love a fantasy so much you ache to live in it all of the time. This perception comes to life for at least one lovable character in Jeff Daniels’ play “Diva Royale” at the Purple Rose Theatre in Chelsea.
“Diva Royale” is a story of three best friends from Middleton, Mich., bound together by circumstances as well as their all-consuming love of the movie “Titanic.” The three — Helen Millerbee (played by Rhiannon Ragland of Flint), Mary Catherine Carlton (Kristin Shields, Ann Arbor) and Lynette Taylor-Tyler (Kate Thomsen of Portage) — all have children in sixth grade, and formed their Mama Bear Network “in 2019 BC — before Covid.”
These hyper-enthusiastic Midwest moms have seen “Titanic” more than a thousand times, combined. They adore Céline Dion, diva of the “Titanic” theme “My Heart Will Go On” — all the more after they learn that, becoming a mom herself, Dion said, “I have become a housewife — and there is no better job.”
Lynnette, who’s addicted to her cell phone, happens to see an ad for Celine Dion performing one night only in New York City. So naturally, these manic mamas will do anything to be there. Their fantasies are dinged from the moment they arrive in the Big Apple, and things do not go as they had imagined. But never mind — creative ingenuity brings about the triumph of these three average Midwestern housewives on a mission. Longtime Purple Rose veteran Rusty Mewha of Plymouth, cast as “Generic Man,” gets the guest-star spotlight, entering at key parts of the story as various male characters.
It’s all very silly and hilarious.
This stripped-down production employs slapstick, physical comedy, flashy lighting (by Stephen Sakowski and Dana L. White), throbbing music (sound by Robert W. Hubbard) and minimal costuming (by Shelby Newport) but no props. The characters mime the few objects that are missing from the stage. Miming becomes another point of comedy as Mewha, portraying a mounted police officer, steers his imaginary horse onto the stage the way a 6-year-old would. And in another scene, Mary Catherine drops a large imaginary ham into the lap of a chuckling audience member.
Fact and fantasy overlap throughout the play, with the amazing Mewha shifting roles — from hooded robber to cop to “Titanic” heartthrob Jack Dawson and more — so quickly that he eventually dresses in front of the audience with costumes handed him from backstage.
Daniels directs this revival of his play, first staged at The Purple Rose in 2018. In an introduction printed in the program, Daniels writes, “This remount of ‘Diva Royale’ — back by public demand — is teed up to provide what so many of you have told us you not only want, but need. A good laugh.
“Funny transcends politics, polarization and the fear of the future. You’re not here to watch the news. You want joy, here it is.”
“Diva Royale” could have been inspired by the film that lent its name to Daniels’ hometown theater, which he founded in 1991. In Woody Allen’s 1985 fantasy romance “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” a woman escapes her loneliness at the movies and falls in love with a film character, played by Daniels, who magically steps off the screen and into her life. Much like our Jack Dawson does for the yearning Mary Catherine.
And her heart does, indeed, go on.
Mary Catherine (Kristin Shields) imagines herself as Rose, reaching for Jack Dawson (Rusty Mewha), in a re-creation of a scene from “Titanic” — part of “Diva Royale” at the Purple Rose Theatre through Dec. 23. Photo by Sean Carter
• “Diva Royale,” written and directed by Jeff Daniels, runs through Dec. 23 at Purple Rose Theatre, 137 Park St., Chelsea. Tickets begin at $30, with discounts for seniors, patrons 30 years or younger, members of the military, teachers and groups of 12 or more. Tickets available at www.purplerosetheatre.org, or 734-433-7673. The play contains adult situations and language not suitable for children.
MAIN PHOTO: Kate Thomsen (from left), Rhiannon Ragland and Kristin Shields are the Mama Bear Network on a mission to New York City in “Diva Royale” at the Purple Rose Theatre through Dec. 23. Photo by Sean Carter
