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Peer Reviews LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL Reviewed by Craig Nolan Highley Entire contents are copyright © 2007, Craig Nolan Highley. All rights reserved.
"Look homeward Angel now,
and melt with ruth: Thomas Wolfe published his first novel Look Homeward, Angel in 1929, a semi-autobiographical story in which he used the novel's main character, Eugene Gant, as a stand-in for himself. Its less-than-flattering fictionalized portrayal of the real people he grew up with caused him to be alienated from his hometown later in life. Ironically, it is these same larger-than-life characters which proved to be an irresistible draw to playwright Ketti Frings' 1959 Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway stage adaptation. The As Yet Unnamed Theatre Company revives the show at Louisville's MeX Theatre at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, and the results are simply outstanding. Well-directed, well-cast, and with an outstanding set and costume design, the show really made me feel that I was watching life as it happened in 1915 small-town America. The story of 17-year-old Eugene Gant dealing with life at his mother's boarding house is captivating and filled with equal amounts of comedy, drama and tragedy. x
x According to the director's notes, this is the play that inspired director Gary Tipton to do theater, and his passion for the project really comes through. While there are a couple of performers who occasionally go a little over-the-top, he has managed to coax some truly awe-inspiring performances from his top-notch cast, without a single poor showing in the entire 20-member company. He has managed to frame the entire production around two particularly strong actors: Max Gosman as the coming-of-age Eugene, and Sandy Richens Cohrs as his force-of-nature mother, Eliza. Gosman is simply amazing in his leading role, a truly star-making performance. This young actor manages to convey a wide range of emotions without affectation, from his innocence at the start of the play, through his first love, his agony at the loss of a loved one, and the heartbreak of an ended affair. He manages to pull all of this off without his performance ever seeming strained or contrived; I'm quite sure we will be seeing much more of this young man in the future. Cohr's portrayal of Eliza, Eugene's strong-willed, scheming, money-hungry mother, is a tour-de-force. She conveys the character's inherent humor without making her a cartoon, and never lets us forget the wounded creature who hides under her hardened surface. If you can picture The Golden Girls' Rue McLanahan in 1915 attire, you get an idea of the tortured dignity Cohrs has achieved here. Also giving memorable performances are Brandon Meier as Eugene's pneumatic older brother Ben; Magdalen Hartman as Eugene's mysterious love interest Laura; Marvin Perryman as Eugene's alcoholic, histrionic woodcutter father; and Tim Curtsinger as smarmy boarder Jake Clatt. The only real criticism I can give the production lies in the script itself; there are some moments that just seem awkward -- maybe just by today's standards, but awkward nonetheless. For example, in the middle of a pivotal tragic scene, the whole play comes to a stop so a character can go into a philosophical monologue about life and death. And the end of the play seems to have too many climaxes, the last of which involves Eugene speaking with a dead character in a bit that seems to have come from another play altogether. Some judicious editing probably could have solved all of these problems, as well as shortened the too-long running time. Overall, though, the play is a wonderful experience that should not be missed, easily one of the best productions I have seen on any Louisville stage this season. Look Homeward Angel Starring Max Grosman, Brandon Meier, Charlotte Dubois, Amanda Davenport, Jesse Lyles, Sandy Richens Cohrs, Brian Dubois, Tim Curtsinger, Carolyn Holbrook, Lynn Humphrey, Elaine Hackett, Jim Reid, Jane Schuster, Magdalen Hartman, Marvin Perryman, Howard Whitman, Mike Miller, Kym Gosman, Damir Konjicija, and Chase Gosman Posted July 15, 2007
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