The Art of The Elegant Unraveling – The Interview – front mezz junkies, Theater News

A Frontmezzjunkies Interview: Becky London and the world of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife

Conducted by Michael Raver

Certain actors drift toward the kind of comedy that requires a wink and a martini glass. Becky London, however, has long preferred the high-wire act: the glamour laced with panic, the elegance with a hairline crack. Which is perhaps why she feels so at home in the world of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, with performances running March 4th through 15th at Sarasota Jewish Theatre. She doesn’t just understand this brand of sophisticated neurosis; she’s been marinating in it for years, particularly in the deliciously stylized, razor-sharp universe of Charles Busch, whose heroines (and anti-heroines) demand both bravado and impeccable comic timing.

London’s history with Busch’s work is less résumé line and more ongoing love affair. Over the years, she has inhabited his heightened, hysterical, heartbreakingly human characters. From the grande dames teetering between self-invention and self-delusion, to the women who speak in epigrams but bleed in private. Busch’s plays require an actor who can balance artifice and authenticity without letting either slip, and Becky has made something of a specialty of that tightrope. She understands the architecture of his comedy: the clipped sophistication, the sudden emotional trapdoor, the way a joke can pivot into longing before the audience has finished laughing.

In Sarasota Jewish Theatre’s production of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, that long relationship pays dividends. London steps into Marjorie Taub’s existential spiral with the confidence of someone fluent in Busch’s particular dialect: one part Upper West Side polish, one part operatic yearning, and just a splash of “Why did I ever think I was special?” It’s a performance built not just on punchlines, but on history.

FRONT MEZZ: The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife explores themes of identity, dissatisfaction, and reinvention — what aspects of the script resonated most deeply with you when you first read it?

BECKY LONDON: I’ve had the pleasure of working with the playwright, Charles Busch, many times. His sharp and daring wit always thrills me. I saw the play on Broadway before I read it, and it was deliciously funny. When I read it, it struck me how much more complex it was than I had realized. I think the thing that resonated with me the most was Marjorie’s (the Allergist’s wife) deep frustration and her yearning to be able to create. Charles’s canny perceptions about how far one can take an obsession are both challenging and revelatory for me.

FM: This production at Sarasota Jewish Theatre brings a contemporary Jewish comedy to local audiences. How do you see the cultural context of the play shaping your performance?

BL: I see this play as a story about family; certainly, the dynamics in this little family are deeply familiar to me. This is a modern-day Jewish family – I think a very clever and insightful view of one. The Jewishness of the family is inextricable from the core of the play and of the character. I’m a Jewish wife, daughter, and mother, and this play hits very close to home.

FM: The humor in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife is sharp and layered with emotional undertones. How do you balance comedic timing with the character’s vulnerability?

BL: The script takes care of the comic timing; Charles Busch has written the funny into the play. Marjorie’s vulnerability comes from her struggle, which makes her journey very active and very funny – all I have to do is take it.

FM: Your character wrestles with questions of purpose and self-worth. How have you personally connected with those struggles, and how do you channel that into your portrayal?

BL: I think everyone has at some point questioned their purpose and value. My own dark nights of the soul have often been about the worth of who I am and what I do. Bringing my experience to Marjorie’s life gives me a place to put that. It’s so wonderful to have lines to say that can come directly from your heart.

FM: Many audience members may see parts of themselves in these characters. What do you hope viewers walk away thinking or feeling after the curtain falls?

BL: I hope the audience will come away feeling the fizz of surprise and the warmth of the family bond. I have no doubt that people will see themselves, and their relatives, in the play. I hope they leave the theater feeling seen, for better and for worse, and ultimately encouraged.

FM: Theater is an intimate medium, especially in a close-knit arts community like Sarasota. How does performing for a local audience influence your approach compared to larger or more commercial stages?

BL: Working in an intimate space is delicious. I think plays are conversations between the actors and the audience, and a small space lets you feel what the audience is thinking. In a larger house, the audience often feels like one great, delightful beast, while an intimate space feels like you are breathing with each individual audience member. Every audience is a local audience; each one is unique, and the experience of performing is different every time. That’s one of the joys of working in the theater.

FM: In a time when many people are reassessing their lives and identities, what makes this production of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife feel particularly timely or urgent right now?

BL: I think many of us are questioning who we really are, what we stand for, and what we will do about it. This production of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife poses the question of what is ultimately worth defending. I think this is as timely a message as one could wish for, and the play brings it with warmth and humor.