NEW YORK—“Life is more than a bank balance,” a character proclaims in Elizabeth Baker’s comedic play ”Partnership,” as presented by the Mint Theater Company. First produced in 1917, this thought-provoking effort asks what happens when one’s passion for work threatens to overwhelm everything else.
Kate Rolling (Sara Haider) is the owner of a successful dress shop in Brighton, England. Her eye for style, and the ability to flatter her customers has also begun to attract the more prominent members of English society.
Another chance for career advancement arises when George Pillatt (Gene Gillette), a competing shop owner, arrives to propose a partnership, so their two businesses can join forces to become a powerful new entity in the trade. Pillatt also wants to take this partnership a step further and marry Kate. All in the name of business, of course.
The pragmatic Kate finds herself intrigued with Pillatt’s proposal, one which also delights her cynical associate Maisie (Olivia Gilliatt). Staff member Miss Blagg (Gina Daniels) finds the idea of marrying for anything other than love quite repugnant. Initially determined to go through with the idea, Kate’s attitude begins to change when she meets an acquaintance of Pillatt, one Lawrence Fawcett (Joshua Echebiri).
Time Off
Fawcett is basically the antithesis of Pillatt, especially when it comes to work. Fawcett inherited a profitable corset business; but as it did not interest him, he sold it and invested in something that did: dyes. He now works only when he needs to, and never during April and May, a period which, in his opinion, is the best time to travel about and enjoy everything life has to offer. This is something Kate hasn’t done for a long time.Kate finds herself inexplicably drawn to Fawcett and, after spending time with him, finds her outlook on life beginning to change. She takes an interest in the romantic situation of one of her workers (Madeline Seidman); hires extra staff so her regular crew doesn’t have to work overtime; and starts to realize the importance of taking time for oneself, away from her work responsibilities.
With apologies to Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, let me say that “Partnership” examines “a tale as old as time,” that of finding a balance between work and leisure. Baker’s text expertly threads the needle between these two poles as Kate strives to find that middle ground. Running parallel to this idea is the premise that every choice one makes will have consequences. Kate learns this when she returns to her shop from a spur-of-the-moment excursion to find chaos due to her absence.
Back in the Day
The production feels a bit like a museum piece when it first begins, but one quickly becomes engrossed in this still-topical story as we wait to see how things turn out. Alexander Woodward’s scenic work nicely sets the tone for the proceedings, as do Kindall Almond’s costumes, many of which pop with color and vibrancy. Jackson Grace Gay’s direction is also quite strong.It’s the sharply contrasted perspectives of Pillatt and Fawcett that make the play so interesting. Mr. Gillette portrays the workaholic Pillatt with a calm, cool efficiency of one always in control: someone who carefully plans his next step long before he ever takes it. Yet it’s when he loses that control his actions become most revealing, as it shows him completely unequipped to handle sudden change.
We see this when Kate alters previously arranged plans between them, or when he, along with Maisie, frantically try to sooth an impatient customer due to Kate’s nonappearance. Pillatt’s most telling moment occurs when he sharply corrects Fawcett’s misconception that Pillatt likes his line of work: He doesn’t particularly. He just does it to make a living. Gillette’s performance is so compelling, one wishes there was more of a backstory to his character that we might get a better insight into who he is underneath this unyielding rigidity.
Mr. Echebiri perfectly embodies the laid-back Fawcett. He’s a man who seized the opportunity to walk away from a career path he despised. His explanation for why he did this is filled with comments about dividends and high and low returns. Yet it’s delivered with the quiet joy of someone who has discovered an important secret. An introvert when we meet him, Fawcett’s subsequent interactions with Kate cause him to open up. This happens to the point one can see the passion in his face when he describes the joys of having the time to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
Ms. Haider works quite well as Kate, who begins to wonder if the career-driven path she long ago set herself on is one she truly wants—even though she’s clearly proud of what she has built. As with Pillatt, one wishes Baker had given some additional background to Kate. It would also have been nice if there was a glossary included in the show program to help define some of the now-obscure words and expressions used in the text.
Quite charming and very relevant, “Partnership” looks at the conundrum of balancing work and happiness, while also pointing out how sometimes, maybe less is more.
