|
||
|
Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Reviews Walden Theatre's Alumni Company presents By Craig Wright Directed by Mark and Zan Sawyer-Daily Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents are copyright © 2009, Keith Waits. All rights reserved. Craig Wright's play, The Pavillion, is so concerned with the inexorable passage of time and the human desire to master and manipulate it, that it comes as no surprise to learn that the playwright has written for both Lost and Six Feet Under, television shows that are noted for their resistance to straightforward, linear narrative structures. Although this work for the stage, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, never turns itself inside out telling its story, it does float between normal scenes of dialogue with character interaction and a narrator that indulges in some metaphysical flights of fancy concerning time. The script often devotes itself to breaking down the traditional relationship of audience and actors, allowing the Narrator to redefine his role and comment directly to theatergoers about the action onstage. During the fast paced first act, in which we meet Peter and Kari, former high school lovers who reunite awkwardly at a class reunion, these examinations of how we understand our unfolding lives often seem too clever by half; witty and verbose writing that seems to lead nowhere. It is unquestionably entertaining and very funny, as the Narrator, Peter and Kari roll through a series of comic scenes that intermittently dip into a pool of deeper emotions. The Narrator occupies various other minor characters, also attending the reunion, who interact with Peter and Kari, and the succession of vignettes function in a very cinematic way, as if edited together, but things seemed a little out of focus. After the intermission, the action abruptly settles into a very long, introspective exchange between the high-school sweethearts, in which they tentatively confront the still relevant effects of the trauma and heartbreak of their youth. Once we have arrived at this carefully constructed interaction, the play gains emotional and thematic heft, as we see the sadly misbegotten desire to revisit and correct past mistakes played out with painful reality. Eventually The Narrator will reignite the flames of the imagination with more ruminations and sly fantasy, but not before we are reminded of the inevitability of time. This third and final production of the Walden Theatre Alumni Company's summer season maintains the same high standards witnessed in the earlier staging of Yazmina Reza's Art and Harold Pinter's Betrayal. Mark and Zan Sawyer-Daily have co-directed with intelligence and good taste and the three young actors do solid work here. As Peter and Kari, Adam Brown and Laura Durham move from wariness and avoidance to sharing the kind of revelatory scene that defines the rest of a life, inviting the audience to eavesdrop on privileged communication. These two characters come at each other from opposite positions: hers is one of acceptance and resignation, while he is so desperate for change that he is willing to throw caution to the wind to get one last chance to alter the course of events and (almost literally) reverse time. The Narrator is a role devoid of character that functions as both an omniscient guide and swing actor, much like the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's Our Town, but substituting irreverence for Wilder's formal dignity. Ben Park seems to fully appreciate the essential artificiality of the nonetheless virtuoso part, displaying a love of language in both its sound and meaning, relishing the near-oratorical aspect of the writing and displaying quicksilver timing in the multitude of rapid transitions the script requires of him. The minimalist staging allows for little distraction, but the lighting design seemed uncertain at times. Several times The Narrator calls directly for specific lighting cues and special visual effects that were not sufficiently rendered in this production. Such are the limitations of summer budgets, but it was still unfortunate that the technical aspects of the staging could not quite match the quality of performance, as this is the one play of the three in this summer season that cries out for some creative visuals. Nevertheless, congratulations to Walden Theatre's Alumni Company for helping to relieve the summer theatre doldrums with "small" but stimulating productions of important contemporary plays.
The Pavilion Remaining performances Fri. August 7 and Sat. August 8 at 9:30pm Starring: Adam Brown, Laura Durham, Ben Park
Posted August 7, 2009
|
|