Dominion Stage’s production of Anthony Giardina’s The City of Conversation presents a family whose politics are incompatible with their love for one another. Strangely, conflict ensues.
Giardina is a novelist, essayist, and short story writer, as well as a playwright. The City of Conversation, which opened at Lincoln Center in 2014, is a witty, evocative depiction of politics in bygone administrations. This is the 75th season for Dominion Stage, Arlington’s oldest community theater.
It is Georgetown, 1979. Jillian Blair is Hester Ferris, the kind of political hostess who believes passionately in her favored causes. But there is something else she finds almost as essential: just the right makeup, just the right dress, and just the right name to drop. A dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, she hates passionately too — for instance, 1) Jimmy Carter, 2) her son Colin’s 1960s hair, 3) anyone who is foolish enough to get in her way.
Colin (Cameron McBride) is a sensitive young man, very much in love with his fiancée, Anna Fitzgerald (Raeanna Nicole Larson). Anna is just as politically savvy as Hester but on a different side. Under her influence (and possibly due to his mother’s insistent advocacy of the Democrats), he has warmed to the conservative charms of her favorite candidate, Ronald Reagan. This is not necessarily a problem for them (see James Carville and Mary Matalin), but Mom Hester is far from happy. In her eyes, Reagan is nothing but a “washed-up movie star governor.”
McBride, as Colin, is somewhat taken aback by his mother’s all-too-familiar antics. Larson’s Anna, like Hester, is certainly ambitious. But her beliefs are sincere and she does not seem competitive. Hester, despite all evidence, immediately views her as a threat. The consequences of their mutual antipathy resound throughout the play. McBride and Larson, married in real life, make an appealing couple, and their scenes together are truthful and effective.
Hester is idealistic, and her determination to fight for causes she believes in is admirable. But as a character, she is not particularly sympathetic nor witty enough to be a fascinating monster. Blair plays her somewhat too broadly, emphasizing the snobbery rather than exploring what might be beneath it. The problem may be a flaw in the writing. Hester is a truly terrible mother in the first act, manipulative and controlling. In the second act, she is magically transformed into an affectionate grandmother to Colin and Anna’s son, Ethan. That is a difficult transition for any actress.
Jean Swift, Hester’s sister, is a WWII widow whom Hester treats as a kind of maid. Like many women in her position, she attempts (and fails) to rein in her sister’s excesses. But as portrayed by Danielle Taylor, she is attractively modest and thoughtful.
Hester, to her credit, is part of an initiative to force candidates for federal judgeships to resign from all-white country clubs. She has invited a Kentucky Senator, George Mallonee (Robert Heinly), a Republican whom she hopes to rally to the cause. Heinly, as Mallonee, is a bit pompous and quite a bit Southern. He’s the kind of man you might find drinking mint juleps on the porch, or talking about it. As his wife Carolyn, Gayle Nichols-Grimes has a dry sense of humor, enhanced by knowing expressions and an impeccable Southern accent. Also among the party is Chandler Harris (Joe Dzikiewicz), a patrician Senator from Virginia and Hester’s (married) boyfriend.
The men, captivated by Anna, admire her for joining them after dinner (the first, Chandler recalls, was Sally Quinn). Hester, who before Mallonee arrived, described his state as “awful,” coos about its “wonderful white fences.” Dzikiewicz, as Chandler, proves to be a convivial and literate sort who likes to drink brandy and quote Adlai Stevenson. Colin, who wants a future quite different from the one his mother imagined for him, is noticeably uncomfortable. And the tensions between Colin and Hester ultimately explode.
In Act II, the year is 1987. The issue at hand is the ill-fated nomination of the controversial Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.
Hester is taking care of Colin’s son, Ethan, while poring over an anti-Bork letter to be published. She and her grandson Ethan (the excellent Callan Smiley) have a close relationship. She apostrophizes on the inherent superiority of being a Democrat and refers to Bork as “evil.” When Chandler enters, he opines that Bork is a racist and his beard is “weird.” The weirdness, he is sure, is what will ultimately do Bork in.
Chandler is now drinking to excess, possibly wearied from the strain of being in the minority party. Hester and Anna’s differences have only intensified. Hester cannot resist telling Ethan that Bork is bad, and Anna cannot help resenting it. Anna fears that if Hester’s letter attacking Bork is printed, Colin, now a reliable Republican, will be out of a job. The gulf between the two women is wider than ever.
Finally, it is 2009, Obama’s inauguration. Everyone has moved on. Hester and Jean are now both in their eighties. McBride is clever, though still conflicted, as the adult Ethan. He is now a teacher in the Bronx. Brian Marigny turns in a fine performance as his partner Donald Logan, a Columbia graduate student in history. Will the celebration of Obama’s victory, and the love between this young couple, lead to a rapprochement? As an audience, we can only hope.
Director Jessie Roberts has captured the emotional life of the script well, although the tone is uneven. These scenes from our political past can be moving, but sometimes they seem almost quaint. Still, the themes of ambition, love, and loss are as resonant as ever.
The set by David Correia is sufficiently detailed and versatile to encompass all three eras. Sound design by Jon Roberts and lighting design by Ari McSherry are well attuned to the production.
It’s a case of À la recherche du temps perdu. Some things are the same, some are very different. But we are all reminded that, when it comes to human nature, plus ça change plus c’est la même chose.
Running Time: Approximately two hours, with one 10-minute intermission.
The City of Conversation plays through February 15, 2025 (Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 pm), presented by Dominion Stage, performing at Theatre on the Run,
3700 S Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington, VA. Tickets are general admission and cost $25 (online coupon code “HESTER5” saves $5) and may be purchased online. The online box office closes at 4:30 pm the day of performance, but a limited number of full-price tickets may be available at the door prior to curtain. Come early to secure a seat.
COVID Policy: Masks are optional.
The City of Conversation
By Anthony Giardina
CAST
Anna: Raeanna Nicole Larson
Carolyn: Gayle Nichols-Grimes
Chandler: Joe Dzikiewicz
Colin/Ethan (adult): Cameron McBride
Donald : Brian Marigny
Hester: Jillian Blair
Jean: Danielle Taylor
Mallonee: Robert Heinly
Ethan (child): Callan Smiley
PRODUCTION STAFF
Executive Producer: Danni Guy
Director: Jessie Roberts
Stage Manager: Brittany Huffman
Sound Designer: Jon Roberts
Costume Designers: Carol Pappas & Judy Whelihan
Props Designer/Set Dresser: Katy Jones-Powe
Lighting Designer: Ari McSherry
Set Design: David Correia
Hair & Makeup: Maurissa Sosa
