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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews Wild Blessings: A Celebration of
Wendell Berry Reviewed by Sherry Deatrick Entire contents are copyright © 2009 Sherry Deatrick. All rights reserved.
Of the little words that come
The last full-length play in the 2009 Humana Festival of New American Plays isn't really a play. Instead, it's a loving tribute to native Kentucky poet, novelist and ecological visionary Wendell Berry, with the musical stylings of famed hammered dulcimer artist Malcolm Dalglish. I can't be sure, but I think I saw Berry himself in the front row on opening day. As the audience took their seats, Dalglish sat motionless behind his instrument on a wooden stage set with a huge window with some plants and rocks in front of it. A small wooden table and chair are the only pieces of furniture. Throughout the next hour, 36 of Berry's poems are recited or sung by four actors, at times accompanied by Dalglish, along with the actors. Helen-Jean Arthur plays violin. Phil Pickens (a member of the 2008 Apprentice Company) strums a guitar. Larry John Meyers plays an African slit drum (a rectangular wooden box with slits that make different tones when the box is struck with a rounded mallet). The "window" becomes a projection screen for images (by Julius Friedman, Michael Brohm and Kentucky Show, Inc.) that illustrate Berry's poems. There's an even larger screen behind the window that takes up the entire back wall. These gigantic screens dwarfed the actors and distracted the audience, especially during "The Wheel," a poem about square dancing. The slow motion video of blurred close-ups of dancing legs going around in a circle drew the attention away from the live dancers on stage and made me feel dizzy. Likewise, the slo-mo video of a sea of humans walking in a big city (presumably Manhattan) upstaged the actors. Some of the still photographs were interesting, but detracted from the show. Do the show's creators think people can't sit through a poetry reading without getting antsy unless there are pretty pictures to pacify them? Unfortunately, they're probably right. Tracy Conyer Lee's beautiful voice stood in marked contrast to those of the other performers (aside from Dalglish). You may remember Lee from last season's Spunk at Actors Theatre. Lee puts a lot of feeling into her songs and is a pleasure to watch. I would suggest that the actors ease up on their pompous delivery of Berry's poetry, which, along with Donna Lawrence's multi-media projections, gives the show a cheesy feel. Berry himself has no need for such affectation, instead speaking like a normal person when reading his own work. Did director Marc Masterson not listen to tapes or watch a YouTube video of Wendell Berry? Adopting a more humble tone would be more in keeping with the poet's intent and would connect more easily to the audience. In a couple of the poems, the actors mime activity like cutting tobacco or doing other farm work. At times, some of the actors seemed to be unable to walk and chew gum at the same time, stopping their mimed actions when delivering a line. Also, the creak of the floor boards as the actors moved about was annoying. The more successful poems were those in which the actors related to each other, as in "The Blue Robe," in which an elderly couple gives thanks for their many years together. I was glad to become more acquainted with Berry's work, and hearing his poems made me want to read more of them. Less effective were the more conceptual poems from the "Mad Farmer" series. It's not that the poems are bad. They're really good. They simply don't translate well to the stage because there are too many abstract concepts (and images) thrown at the audience with no time for reflection. It's ironic that in "How to Be a Poet," Berry advises the aspiring bard to "live a three-dimensional life," and to "stay away from screens." The "window" screen, and the even larger screen behind it (taking up the entire back wall), which dwarfs the actors, directly contradicts Berry's philosophy of living a simple life and shunning consumerism.
Actors Theatre of Louisville Featuring Helen-Jean Arthur, Malcolm Dalglish,
Tracy Conyer Lee, Larry John Meyers, and Phil Pickens.
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