Judith Ivey a marvel as “Shirley Valentine” at the Long Wharf

NEW HAVEN — It’s a leap over the pond and back in time to 1980s Liverpool, England in Long Wharf Theatre’s heartfelt production of “Shirley Valentine” starring the incomparable Judith Ivey.
This one-woman show, which was first produced in England in 1988, is the story of a 52-year-old wife and mother whose children are grown and whose husband is less than supportive. Shirley ends up talking to the wall and to the audience about her life and how she got to be in the sad and depressing rut she finds herself in.
Her friend, Jane, has bought her a ticket to Greece, and the two of them are going off on a two-week holiday.
When I first learned that “Shirley Valentine” was a one-woman show, my heart sank a bit. And when I learned that there were two acts, I was even more on guard. As good as actors are, I have found it difficult for any one person to hold my attention for two hours.
I needed have worried. Ivey is a marvel. And she really isn’t alone on that stage. She brings all the people in her life, including her husband Joe, her daughter Milandra, her son, Brian, her friend Jane, and others along for the ride.
Ivey is pitch-perfect with her dialects and when she speaks as others, it really feels like Valentine imitating people, rather than Ivey just doing accents.
There is a lot of dialog and she is talking all the time, but she manages to make it all sound natural and conversational. The audience is a character also, participating as the listeners to her fascinating story.
And she has a lot to say. It’s a philosophical journey, well directed by Gordon Edelstein and finely written by Willy Russell, who also wrote the terrific “Educating Rita.”
Russell was a hairdresser in his youth and he must have been a very good listener because you can hear all these Liverpool working class gal’s lives wrapped up in Valentine.
Valentine has a lively, down-to-earth, unique way of speaking, such as when she calls the act of making love a “horizontal party.” Her humor isn’t so much one-liners, though, but it evolves naturally from the story of her life she tells.
She says she doesn’t hate men, and isn’t a feminist, unlike her mate Jane who found her husband in bed with the milkman.
“From that day on I noticed she never takes milk in her tea anymore,” Valentine says.
There’s plenty of amusing maxims throughout, as when she says that marriage is like the Middle East — There’s no solution, and the best you can hope for is a cease-fire.
She recognizes that life is hard on men as well as women, and observes that it can’t be much fun for her husband to be stuck in his rut either.
In the beginning she is preparing eggs and chips for her husband Joe in a claustrophobically minuscule kitchen, with set design by Frank Alberino. She really cooks that sliced potato in oil on a stove and the whole theater smells of the grease.
When in the second act she is at a beach on a glorious Grecian isle, it would be wonderful to have the smell of the sea. Just lighting a scented candle would do the trick. Also, it would have been nice to have the sound of waves gently breaking in the background.
I love all the 1980s music by David Bowie, Phil Collins, and others, with sound by Ran Rumery. It really helps give the sense of time and place.
Ivey as Valentine confidently and assuredly takes you on an exciting, brave, and transformational journey of growth and self-discovery that everyone can benefit from.
She’s just the kind of gal I would be pleased to have a cup of tea with, or perhaps share a nice bottle of wine. And in many ways, I feel like I already have.

SHIRLEY VALENTINE

3½ Stars
Location: 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven
Production: Written by Willy Russell. Directed by Gordon Edelstein. Set design by Frank Alberino. Costume design by Marin Pakledinaz. Lighting design by Rui Rita. Sound design by Ran Rumery. Dialect coach Stephen Gabis. Stage manager Jason Hindelang.
Running time: 2 hours plus one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays at 7 p.m., Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Saturday matinees at 3 p.m. and Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through Jan. 2.
Tickets: $45 to $65. For more information call their box office at 203-787-4282, or visit their website at www.longwharf.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Judith Ivey … Shirley Valentine