Theater review: Guthrie's 'Third' is first-rate

With death's shadow as her companion, playwright Wendy Wasserstein reached into her soul and drew out the reflective gem, "Third." Exhilarating in its melancholy -- much as that first snowfall of winter -- "Third" is Wasserstein's quest into the wilderness of self-doubt and a call to reexamine that which once seemed fresh and righteous in our minds. Only when we grasp our fallibility, Wasserstein argues, can we begin to learn again and stride gracefully into life's final season.

"Third" hit New York in 2005, just months before Wasserstein would die of cancer. The Guthrie opened a crisp and moving production Friday, directed by Casey Stangl on the proscenium stage. A smart and articulate cast has just the right alchemy, the design elements blend in a modernist nod toward mutability and Wasserstein's redemptive message seizes the day.

A full-throated feminist, the playwright was a darling of New York's liberal cognoscenti and her work served up heaping piles of red meat -- or rather, beige tofu -- to eager acolytes. "Third" purports to offer more of that fare, as we are met with Laurie Jameson, a confident and progressive English professor at a leafy New England college. Smug yet friendly in Sally Wingert's portrayal, Laurie has set out to deconstruct patriarchal dominance as represented by "King Lear." When a student's sharply reasoned analysis of "Lear" challenges her orthodoxy, Laurie accuses him of plagiarism. Woodson Bull III, played with vigorous youth by Tony Clarno, represents everything Laurie has fought in her career -- "A walking Red State."

Laurie dogs her case with the obsession of Lear. She alienates friends and family in her single-minded pursuit until the psychic demons withdraw their talons. Plunged into self-examination, her bravado cracks. Her fresh-faced idealism has calcified; it's time to catch her breath and learn again.

Wasserstein's play is not perfect, and Stangl cannot resist precious moments between Laurie and her father (played with fine awareness by Raye Birk). But the piece compensates with taut, honest moments between Clarno's Woodson and Laurie's daughter, portrayed with an unaffected sense of hurt by Emily Gunyou Halaas.

Scenes between Laurie and her colleague, Nancy, ring with similar authenticity. Angela Timberman applies her droll wit and bedrock understanding of character to Nancy, who represents Wasserstein's plea that we not let details obscure the beauty of existence.

Through all of this, Wingert deftly explores Laurie's evolution with a performance that never feels impressed with itself as much as it is dedicated to the playwright's intentions.

John Arnone's set uses panels to catch slide projections to set place and mood -- and also illuminate Marcus Dilliard's lights. C. Andrew Mayer's sound smartly uses cover versions of old songs, illustrating that maybe we are getting older. Deal with it.

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299