THEATER REVIEW : ‘Bride’: Juggling Wedding Preparations, Life

The atmosphere is heavy with irony at Highways, Santa Monica’s premier performance art space. A little more than a week ago, the organization was roundly denounced as obscene by a certain outraged conservative in Congress, who seized upon Highways’ homosexually oriented, federally funded programs as a prime example of why the NEA should be effectively dismantled. The lobby at Highways is festooned with news clippings and editorials, some frighteningly vitriolic, culled from the resulting media firestorm.

The irony arises from the fact that Highways’ current offering, Sara Felder’s one-woman show “June Bride,” is far from being the salacious “filth” decried on the House floor. On the contrary, Felder’s comedy, which details her hilariously troublesome preparations for her wedding, is a veritable tribute to family values, emphasizing monogamous love, the marriage contract, family relations and religious traditions.

Oh, there’s a small catch. Felder is a lesbian and her intended another woman. This simple fact might stir up some dust in Washington, but inflammatory rhetoric aside, it’s difficult to believe that anyone who actually sat through this gently pointed entertainment could take exception to it.

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As a professional juggler, Felder soon realizes that, nimble as she is, her road to matrimony will be particularly precarious. Despite the obvious obstacles, she and her fiancee decide to have a traditional Jewish ceremony. Of course, difficulties present themselves. Who will break the glass? Even more important, who will break the news to those family members and friends who may not yet be aware of the couple’s sexual orientation?

Felder accomplishes this tricky task by including a “good news/bad news” note in her wedding invitations to her relatives. The bad news? Felder’s prospective mate has the same earning potential as she does (for an artist, roughly nil). The good news: “She’s Jewish!”

Felder’s juggling is integral to her tale. In one bit, Felder manipulates a clear glass ball with balletic grace. In another, she juggles flashing machetes. After being fastened firmly into a straitjacket by an audience volunteer, Felder escapes her restraints--while balancing on a precarious teeter-totter.

As she wriggles her way out of her bonds, Felder bemoans the fact that a homosexual wedding is more a “coming-out party” than a simple ceremony. Blatant but dazzling, the metaphor underscores her text as few words could.

Actually, the words themselves could use some burnishing. Felder starts too many sentences with the word so , and her actual line delivery, though refreshingly chatty, is so untheatrical at times that it borders on the prosaic. However, a little more guidance from director Jael Weisman should sharpen this already keen social satire to a fine edge of perfection.

As for all that dust being stirred up in the halls of power, shows such as Felder’s, given a fair hearing, could clear the atmosphere like a refreshing breeze.

* “June Bride,” Highways, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica. Thursday-Sunday, 8:30 p.m. Ends Sunday. $10. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.