Top Girls: Women From Top to Bottom

Bryn Dotson, staff writer

The Live Arts lobby in downtown Charlottesville was buzzing with white noise and chatter, people talking animatedly with finger food in hand. A sudden ping from a glass grabbed the crowd’s attention, drawing their eyes to a couple of women standing in the middle of the cozy seating area. The women, director Betsy Tucker and producer Adrienne Oliver, began a question and answer session, thus allowing the audience to converse with various members of the crew from the female-driven play Top Girls. Creating a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere, the crew encouraged women and men to open up about personal experiences.

After an hour of conversation, the performance began at 8 p.m.

The theater was small, intimate, and far from empty, with three of the four walls covered with seats. The stage was floor level with a table and six chairs sitting in the middle of it.

The audience settled in quietly as the first scene opened. A confident bobbed blonde, Marlene, played by Claire Chandler, hosted a dinner party  with five other women, in celebration of her promotion to manager at Top Girls Employment Agency. The women were all different historical characters with unique significance in the history of women. One example, named Pope Joan, played by Gretchen York, disguised herself as a man in the ninth century to learn in Athens and was eventually elected Pope.

The first act was challenging to understand. The scene created parallels between each woman and Marlene by empathizing the struggle  each  character was having with patriarchy and oppression. If an audience member could get beyond the play’s format of overlapping dialogue, the scene was straightforward. However, for many the scene seemed muddled and disorganized.

Two  intermissions separated the three acts during Top Girls. Both were long enough to run to the bathroom and get a snack, but short enough to comfortably stay in your seat. Following the first intermission was act two. The first scene began with Marlene interviewing a woman named Jeanine, portrayed by Jess Kristensen. After being disappointed in Jeanine’s family values, Marlene offers two job opportunities that fail to meet Jeanine’s desires.

Scene two starts quickly with a young, troubled teen named Angie, played by Jen Bottas, interacting with a little girl named Kit, played by Madison Weikle. The two girls played and argued with intensity. It ended with Angie telling Kit that she believes her aunt, Marlene, is really her mother.

The next two scenes went back to the Top Girls agency where two working women, Win (Jess Kristensen) and Nell (Gretchen York) arrived for the work day. A series of interviews take place and the second act ends with a confrontation between Marlene and Angie.

The performance let out at 10:30 p.m. leaving the audience with a lot to think about. Many elements and themes of the performance are relevant to today’s gender roles.

Betsy Tucker, the director of the play, said, “Responses have been slow in coming, but they have been very positive.