THEATER REVIEWS : Cheek and Chic Make for an Educated ‘Rita’

ORANGE —  A little knowledge, it is said, is a dangerous thing. According to British playwright Willy Russell, too much knowledge is even more dangerous.

In Russell’s “Educating Rita,” at the Ensemble Theatre, the change a little learning brings about in Rita’s life is all for the better, but the wealth of education informing her tutor Frank has brought him to the point of alcoholic disaster. Oh, well, it’s Rita’s show anyway, and how she copes with Frank is as intelligent and affirmative as the new Rita she’s made of herself.

“Rita” is a delicately woven series of meetings between the hairdresser and the failed poet whose job is to open her mind at Britain’s version of college extension courses, as Rita says, “degrees for dishwashers.” The emotional and verbal tug of war between them is not so delicate.

The balance between that delicacy in the relationship and the sharp-edged humor that gives it its spark is beautifully handled by the actors and by director Herman Boodman (R.A. Blankenship Jr. took over direction shortly before opening after Boodman suffered a heart attack). Boodman has an innate feel for the shadings and tone of each progressive scene as Frank increasingly crumbles under his awe of Rita, and Rita subtly changes from punk-rock garbed hairdresser to chic bistro savant.

As Frank, Peter Stone is not always as focused as he could be, but there are details in his performance that give it richness, and he’s a fine foil for Sigrid Zahner’s Rita.

*

Zahner first of all has an impeccable accent--place her somewhere near Sheffield in Yorkshire--and the ability to gradually modulate that accent into the softer tones and more melodic rhythms of the young woman she becomes.

She plays around words with skill and doesn’t miss one of her laughs, including some only a knowledge of the language could create. Zahner has the right measure between the cheek and the chic that are the borders of Rita’s personality.

Boodman’s university lecturer’s office set is exactly as ordinary as one would be, and exactly as lived-in as Frank would have it. It’s a good setting for the tennis match between personalities that Russell’s script sets up for its actors.

* “Educating Rita,” Ensemble Theatre, 844 E. Lincoln Ave., Suite E, Orange. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends May 22. $15. (714) 998-2199. Running time: 2 hours.

Sigrid Zahner: Rita

Peter Stone: Frank

An Eastern Boys Company production. Play by Willy Russell. Directed by Herman Boodman (co-directed by R.A. Blankenship Jr.). Set: Herman Boodman.