Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Maiden Voyage

Life can be ... messy. Especially for Matilde, a live-in maid who hates to clean. It’s not that the quirky protagonist of Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House is just anti-dusting; she’s a would-be standup comedian and Brazilian immigrant reeling from the loss of her parents, more obsessed with crafting “the perfect joke” than with folding laundry. “It’s a wonderful comedy that’s really soulful, as well,” says Cristina Alicea, Vermont Stage Company’s new producing artistic director, directing her first play with the troupe. With themes of reinvention and rejuvenation, the intellectual comedy — winner of the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize — promises a lasting message along with “deep, crazy belly laughs,” says Alicea.