The Only Woman to Heat Capote's Blood

The one-act play, A Beautiful Child, adapted from a Truman Capote nonfiction story of the same name, deals with the depression and loneliness that plagued Marilyn Monroe. Actors Maura Lisabeth Malloy and Joel Van Liew adapted the story for the stage, and they play the two main characters, Monroe and Capote. The play is based on events from April 28, 1955, when Monroe and Capote attended the funeral of a mutual friend, acting coach Constance Collier. After the funeral, the two travel across Manhattan, making a stop at a restaurant to share a bottle of champagne.

As Capote, Van Liew stands tall, looking confident in his horn-rimmed glasses, and moves his hands in keen, effeminate gestures. Van Liew flaunts his acting skills, also playing Collier and a dog walker charmed by Monroe. When the lights unexpectedly turned off during the play’s beginning, Van Liew handled the mishap with wit, ad-libbing, “I didn’t know I had so much power.” Though he may not have power to turn off light with his presence, he does have power as an actor. He carries the play from the beginning with his nerdy poise, and this helps as he narrates the drama.

Malloy plays Monroe with an intense subtlety. A misplayed Monroe might have come off as just a hollow imitation of Capote’s description of the actress. Her Monroe, however, embodies what Capote says about her during the beginning of the funeral, that she is like “a twelve-year-old orphan,” depressed and vulnerable. Malloy just does her job simply and well, with no overacting. She finds just about the right pitch and attitude with every line and body movement. Her performance may be too subtle at times, but especially pays off in a frantic scene in which Monroe is intoxicated by pills and champagne.

The ultra-human portrait of Monroe found here shatters the cultural idea of her only being a sex symbol, or, as Capote puts it, a “platinum sex explosion.” The “twelve-year-old orphan” “happens to have a sailor’s mouth as well”, and is the source of some funny moments throughout the play. Indeed, playful banter fills much of the script. Such banter describes Monroe’s love of jumping in front of the mirror naked, and Capote’s disappointing tryst with a swashbuckling Hollywood legend. Each of Malloy’s and Van Liew’s respective performances highlights the other because of the differences in approach, and this onstage chemistry colors the in-script closeness between Capote and Monroe. It feels natural to see the two trade stories.
Also of note are the moments of dancing. Scenes are interwoven with Van Liew and Malloy dancing together, bringing to mind a picture of the real Monroe and Capote dancing. This does even more to convey a sense of real closeness between the actors and their characters.

As for backstage work, Travis McHale must be commended for his lighting design. Despite the early technical glitch, his decision to set up the lights facing the actors helps bring out the glimmer from the actors’ eyes. This proved to be a simple and useful method to draw attention to the actors.

A Beautiful Child paints a dramatic portrait of America’s best-known but least-understood sweethearts. This character-study lasts about 45 minutes, which may disappoint those looking for a meatier stage experience, but it is a somber, funny, and sweet 45 minutes.