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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Uplifting Portrayal Attention To Detail Makes The Acting Performances In ‘Old Lady’s‘ Among The Best Of The Year

“The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival,” Saturday, Nov. 18

The audience Saturday night at The ACT in the Valley numbered barely 20, which just goes to prove: The marketplace doesn’t know beans.

If there were any justice in the world, the “Old Lady’s Guide to Survival” would be drawing 10 times as many people.

This two-person Mayo Simon play, about two elderly ladies dealing with the indignities and terrors of age, rings absolutely true throughout. As sensitively directed by Charles Kenfield, it is a compassionate and clear-eyed look at such issues as loss of independence, loss of memory, loneliness, medical insensitivity, and finally, the importance of companionship.

And in this production, it also contains two of the best acting performances of the year. The real stunner is Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter, who plays Netty, a woman who is dealing with degeneration of the retina.

Wheatley-Billeter never once makes us doubt that she is in her 80s, although she is less than half the age of her character. She does so through keen attention to detail. Her hands flutter nervously; she pats her knee when she sits down; she moves with the exaggerated care of a woman whose biggest fear is that of falling.

Her performance is packed full of moments that will stick in my memory. When she attempts to write her rent check, she cocks her head to the side in order to see through the precious little retina she has left. Then she gives herself a pep talk, something like, “The date, don’t forget the date.”

When this attempt ends in failure, it is heartbreaking, in no small part because her rent check is symbolic of her independence.

I will also remember Netty’s frightened sojourn through her apartment, looking for her lamp; her agitated attempt to catch a bus; and her hilarious assault with a broomstick on a “burglar.”

Since Wheatley-Billeter is so strong, and since her character is also the central narrating character of the play, it might be easy to ignore the other character, Sprintzy. That doesn’t happen in this production, because actress Robin Kropff is also remarkably effective and believable.

Sprintzy has Alzheimer’s disease, which means that she is prone to go off in her own world at times. In Kropff’s portrayal, she suddenly snaps into reality, and is as cogent as anybody. She also seems poignantly aware that she is not always catching everything.

Kropff gives her an abrupt, barking laugh that is endearing and infectious. In fact, both of these actresses brilliantly use laughter to create character. Wheatley-Billeter gives Netty an unconscious, back-of-the-throat chuckle, which comes out after almost every sentence. It’s a mannerism that rings completely true.

The great theme of this play is that neither of these women can get along alone, but together they become “almost a whole person.” At first, togetherness is the last thing Netty wants. She thinks Sprintzy is a pathetic goofball, and she doesn’t want Sprintzy “dragging me down to her level.”

In the end, they are both uplifted by being together, and we in the audience are uplifted by the experience.

, DataTimes MEMO: “The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival,” continues through Dec. 2 at the ACT Theatre, 425 N. Evergreen, 921-1706.

“The Old Lady’s Guide to Survival,” continues through Dec. 2 at the ACT Theatre, 425 N. Evergreen, 921-1706.