 |
| Jayne Furlong, Adriana Gantzer, and Amelia Morgan-Rothschild |
By Tina Arth
There’s just something about sisters in the South – from the
gloom and doom of Streetcar Named Desire
to the utterly fluffy Dearly Beloved,
American theater is rife with tales of the complex relationships between
siblings raised below the Mason-Dixon Line. Mask & Mirror’s current
production of Crimes of the Heart is
perched right in the middle of the road – not nearly as dark as Streetcar, but substantive enough to
escape the clichéd slapstick of Beloved.
Playwright Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize winning script is loaded with humor,
but also takes a respectful look at important themes like domestic violence,
depression, infidelity, even suicide. Director Linda Morris Taluto and her cast
present the seemingly absurd (she shot her husband “because I didn’t like his
stinkin’ looks!”) yet integrate these moments into an oddly believable reality,
and the result is a compelling story that flows easily between the wacky and
the profoundly serious.
The story revolves around the three Magrath sisters, the
mousy stay-at-home Lenny, flamboyant and promiscuous Meg, and winsomely bipolar
Babe, reuniting in the family home as their grandfather is dying. Meg’s failed
singing career in Los Angeles has devolved into a nervous breakdown, Lenny is
facing her 30th birthday alone (sticking candles in a cookie and
singing “Happy Birthday” to herself), and Babe is out on bail after having shot
her husband. The sisters have all been damaged by their mother’s sensational
suicide when they were children (the event got national coverage because she
also hung her cat), and they have never really succeeded in forming lasting
relationships outside of their tiny family circle. We can’t completely predict
how their lives will turn out after the final curtain, but it is clear that
they will survive because of the strength they draw from each other.
Much of the comic relief comes from the Magrath’s cousin,
Chick Boyle (Katherine Roundy). From the opening scene where she struggles into
a pair of extra small pantyhose through a series of exceptionally snarky
moments until, finally, Lenny chases her out of the kitchen with a broom,
Roundy exemplifies the stereotypical Southern matron obsessed with the family’s
good name. Jay Dressler plays Babe’s
neophyte lawyer Barnette Lloyd with an earnest naivety – he is clearly dazzled
by the Magrath sisters and seriously enamored of his client. Nathan Larrabee is
charmingly seductive as Meg’s now-married ex beau Doc Porter, and he delights
the audience (if not Meg) with the mature backbone hidden beneath his
devil-may-care exterior.
Of course, it’s the three sisters who make or break this
show, and Taluto’s trio does a spectacular job of dealing with humor and
heartbreak, sometimes simultaneously. Amelia Morgan-Rothschild moves the
seriously delusional “Babe” through an amazing menu of emotions, integrating
low comedy with high drama in a feast of bi-polar behavior. Jayne Furlong
(“Meg”) has mastered the art of self-centered brassiness, both in her facial
expressions and her strident voice, yet gives her character just enough
subliminal warmth that we sense the pain and love beneath her hard shell.
Adriana Gantzer’s “Lenny” is a perfect combination of dowdiness,
disappointment, insecurity, and loneliness – humorously pathetic, but always
with an undertone of real tragedy until she finds the confidence to grab the
reins of her own life.
“Woody” Woodbury’s set is a thing of beauty - the classic
kitchen as symbol for the heart of family – and Cindy Zimmerman’s set dressing
contains dozens of tiny touches that complete the picture, and set the stage
for a funny, touching, lovely play that should not be missed.
Crimes of the Heart
is playing at “The Stage” at Calvin Church, 10445 SW Canterbury Lane, Tigard,
97224, with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday March 11, 18, 25 and 2:00 p.m. on
Sunday March 12, 19, 26. The role of Barnette Lloyd will be played by Blaine
Vincent III on March 11, 18, 19, and 26.
No comments:
Post a Comment