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COPYRIGHT 2007 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc.
Theresa Rebeck is a slick playwright; in fact, she's so slick that Gucci wears her shoes. Her scenes have a crisp shape, her dialogue pops, her characters swagger through an array of showy emotion, and she knows how to give a plot a cunning twist. Rebeck's latest play, "Mauritius" (directed by Doug Hughes, at the Biltmore), brings together two sensational forms of combat: the psychological battle between rivalrous siblings for property after a parent's death, which most of the audience understands, and the compulsive battle for ownership in the world of philately, which most of the audience doesn't. (The title of the play refers to "the holy grail of philately," a couple of uncancelled, misprinted African stamps.) When the play opens, Jackie (the excellent Alison Pill) is in possession of a stamp collection that her late mother gave her as a reward for her loyal care during a long struggle with cancer. Jackie is ignorant about stamps, but she's smart enough to know that life has dealt her a low hand and she wants to sell the stamps in order to better her own existence. All that stands between Jackie and a very big payday, we soon learn, is the question of whether or not the stamps are real....
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