Jeremy Beck and Talene Monahon star as Dr. Harry Trench and Blanche Sartorius, a young couple at the center of George Bernard Shaw's first comedy Widowers' Houses
. Dr. Trench must decide between love and ideals when he discovers his fiancee’s father is a slum landlord. Below, BroadwayBox chats with the dynamic duo about deal breakers, relationship goals, and the cleverness of Shaw.
My favorite Shaw line from the show:
Jeremy:
Anything the waitress (Hanna Cheek) says in the first scene at the hotel by the Rhine. But my vote for most Shavian exchange would be this serve and volley between Cokane (Jonathan Hadley) and Lickcheese (John Plumpis):
"Ah my dear boy, the love of money is the root of all evil."
"Yes sir. And we'd all like to have that tree growing in our garden."
Talene:
Trench has a line when he's speaking about his honeymoon housing with Blanche:
"It's the sort of house nobody can really live in, given its ridiculous size and everything, you know, but it's a nice thing for him to offer. Don't you think so?"
My affection for this line has nothing to do with the line itself, and everything to do with the way Jeremy's voice gets very high and sweet like that of a young schoolboy as he's exclaiming it. He almost breaks on the word "nice" every night. It's consistently delightful to me.
Ultimate relationship deal breaker:
Jeremy:
Either (1) ditching your spouse with a newborn to go on a weekend trip to the World Series, or (2) the spouse getting revenge by permanently switching allegiances to the team that beat yours would have seemed deal breakers to me at one time. Not saying any of that actually happened, but in life (as in Widowers' Houses) it seems just about anything is negotiable. Go Rangers!
Talene:
Rat-tails. Also, cyber-bullies.
Fictional couple that is #RelationshipGoals:
Jeremy:
For Trench and Blanche, David and Susan in Bringing Up Baby would be #RelationshipGoals to shoot for. Or perhaps the historical fictional Henry and Eleanor in A Lion In Winter. They've got deal-making skills.
Talene:
Gomez and Morticia Addams? I bet they keep things interesting..
Piece of relationship advice I’d give to my character:
Jeremy:
Everyone makes it up as they go. Don't get overconfident or forget that your paramour is a human being. A human being with heels. Wear a cup.
Talene:
Use more teeth.
See Jeremy Beck and Talene Monahon in TACT and Gingold Theatrical Group’s production of Widowers' Houses at off-Broadway's Beckett Theatre through April 2.
