SCR’s ‘Madwoman’ runs on estrogen

The world premiere of “The Madwoman in the Volvo” at South Coast Repertory will be thoroughly enjoyed by at least half the audience — the female half — while the rest may be periodically scratching their heads and wondering what all the fuss is about.

Sandra Tsing Loh’s self-deprecating presentation of expanded stand-up comedy, built around a troubling period in her life, is clearly aimed at the women in the theater, for whom just a mention of the word “gluten” wins a smattering of applause.

Loh has built her virtual one-woman show — with assistance from two equally middle-aged actresses — around the topic of menopause and how she squirmed through it, torching a 20-year marriage to hook up with her manager during a sojourn in the desert.

It’s funny, but hardly hilarious, and sometimes the 100 minutes of intermission-free performance can seem a bit overlong. Loh clearly is a huge talent, building laughs as she recounts her infidelity, but eventually we wonder, with Peggy Lee, if that’s all there is.

Director Lisa Peterson keeps the action humming at a brisk pace, encouraging free expression from a cast that hardly needs encouragement. The other two women — Caroline Aaron and Shannon Holt, billed as Actor A and Actor B — fit comfortably into the scenario, morphing into various characters from Loh’s consciousness.

As both narrator and actress, Loh is an engaging figure, flawless in execution thanks to years of one-woman shows. She’s especially adept at sharing intimate details, often with ladies in the first few rows, and she handles her dual assignment of producer and performer quite skillfully.

Aaron, the senior of the two supporting players, doubles as “Charlie,” the manager with whom Loh combines for impromptu infidelity, with a deepened voice and manly mannerisms. Holt fills a number of companion characters, most notably the unhinged leader of a couples therapy session for Sandra and Charlie.

And the Volvo? Well, it’s mentioned in passing, late in the show, presumably to justify the play’s title.

Women, as noted earlier, should get a big kick out of “The Madwoman in the Volvo,” but Loh would be wise to include a few passages in her prose that would tickle the testosterone carriers as well as her comrades in arms in this snappy world premiere at South Coast Repertory.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater.

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IF YOU GO

What: “The Madwoman in the Volvo”

Where: South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 and 7:45 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays until Jan. 24

Cost: Tickets start at $22

Information: (714) 708-5555