Shear Photo by Craig Schwartz

Wow, did Giulia land her perfect job! This self-described woman who cleans things has been hired to scrub, de-fungicize and generally spiffy up David--The David, as in Michelangelo's statue. It would seem the perfect situation for an art history teacher who gets her jollies out of eliminating spots with a bleach-dipped Q-tip. But, of course, neither art nor life is that tidy.

How Giulia deals with her dream job, her fantasy man and the messiness of reality is what Restoration, La Jolla Playhouse's world premiere is about. Carefully directed by Christopher Ashley, and buoyed by Scott Pask's ingenious sets, this engaging production is based on the true story of Cinzia Parnigoni, the woman who restored the world's most famous sculpture in 2003-2004. Written by and starring Claudia Shear, it showcases a smart and inventive, but also acerbic and lonely woman as she bonds with a statue and learns that humans can offer some meaningful relationships, too.

The playwright's program notes warn us that "Everything about the David is true; everything else is fiction." The facts reveal that, from its 16^th Century birth from a marble slab to its 500^th birthday, the monument to youth, strength and beauty has had its share of detractors and controversies. The former includes the deranged man with hammer who smashed David's toe in 1991. The latter includes the controversies surrounding the 2003-2004 restoration. The plot includes enough references to those and other truths to satisfy the historical background and offer a bit of education in the bargain. However, Restoration is not a chronicle, but a story about people who find themselves as they make and serve history.

The fiction begins when Giulia's mentor and advocate, Professor Williams (a wise, believable and appealing Alan Mandell), armed with a bottle of grappa and a stinging but logical argument, goads her into applying for the job of restorer to the David. Because she has been pushed out of a promising academic career and lives in the garage of her repossessed home, where she tinkers with small restoration projects, Giulia is not hard to persuade. After convincing the 3-member interview panel that her methods are safe and her dedication is absolute, she moves to Florence and takes up residence in the Accademia with her stony roommate and Max, the museum guard.

It is Max (a subtle, but clever Daniel Serafini-Sauli) who intuitively knows the vulnerable woman inside Giulia's protective emotional armor. Not that he's always subtle in his judgments, and he is not above a temper tantrum or two in his quest for friendship. Besides, he has a few vulnerabilities himself.

More susceptible but less likeable is the beautiful and efficient press agent Daphne (capably wrought by Kate Shindle), to whom Giulia has taken an immediate dislike. (Daphne's lamentations about her beauty being a barrier to friendship are too trite for this otherwise well-crafted script.)  She is her ill mother's keeper, and the scenes that show her private anguish are among the play's most poignant, especially in the last few scenes. In the end, both she and Giulia come to an understanding that could be a prelude to friendship and an antidote to the psychological pain both women harbor.

This play is far from an achy-breaky heartache story, however. Personified in the characters of Marciante, Beatrice and Nonna, three women of very different economic classes who manage to move capably through life without self-pity, there are touchstones of the everyday. Natalija Nogulich portrays all three vastly different roles with confident aplomb. Thanks to some clever puns and more than a few great funny lines and situations, Restoration is a gratifying and satisfying drama.

More than half the credit for that goes to Claudia Shear and her knowing creation and portrayal of Giulia. There is nothing in this character that seems out of place, even though she is an odd person. Shear hides her character's vulnerability, but doesn't bury it, so that the metaphor for cleaning and restoring emerges quietly and gradually, as from underneath a lifted stain.

This Restoration is not perfect, but it is a job well done.

****

Restoration by Claudia Shear plays at the Mandell Weiss Forum, La Jolla Playhouse through July 19.

Performances are: Tue/Wed at 7:30 pm; Thu/Fri/Sat at 8:00 pm; Sun at 7:00 pm. Matinees Sat/Sun at 2:00 pm.

Tickets are $30-$65.

Reservations: 1-858-550-1010 or www.lajollaplayhouse.org