Decades after the release of such classics as Detour, Double Indemnity, They Live By Night, Film Noir continues to fascinate and resonate with contemporary audiences. Written and directed by Ochre House’s Kevin Grammer, The Woman Who Knew Too Much is a musical homage to a genre characterized by a dark, lyric cynicism. An existential, never ending night where dystopia is a given. Grammer has constructed a blissfully dark narrative that celebrates noir while perhaps indulging in tongue-in-cheek mockery. We can smile at the wiseass dialogue while appreciating a realm where its all about booze, broads and brawling. With a pervasive tone of detachment and resignation.
Violet wakes up in a mental institution, with only scraps of recollection to explain why she’s been institutionalized. She is visited by her parents and Yvonne, her hostile, snarky sister. As her memory gradually returns, she finds herself in a nightclub loaded with sketchy activity, flirtatious (if chilly) banter, thugs, prostitution, and a predilection for knocking back hard liquor. (Lock the front door, cause baby I’m home!) As Violet’s nocturnal recreational activities are slowly revealed, and various characters croon the ups and downs of their tawdry lives, the jigsaw pieces fall into place. Marguerite, Violet’s mother at the mental hospital, is a madame at the nightclub. Soon memory and supposition splash into each other. What’s genuine memory and mere, transient fantasy? Yikes.
First and foremost in noir milieu is tone, and Grammer and this confident, intuitive cast have provided it in spades. Kevin Grammer’s script is inspired. Spot on. It’s a quintessential culmination of glamour, skepticism, sharp wit and dangerous misadventure. Everybody’s packing heat and at least slightly intoxicated. I have sung the praises of Ochre House in this column before, and The Woman Who Knew Too Much, is no exception. Attention to detail, quirky mannerisms, a meticulous balance of nuance, irony and layers of symbolism and meaning, made this splendid show memorable and engaging. I regret I was unable to attend before closing weekend, but bear in mind, The Ochre House’s consistently high standards for the future.
Ochre House Theater. 825 Exposition Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75226. 214-826-6273. www.ochrehouse theater.org