Curtain Calls

Craig Schwartz Photography From left, Brian
McGovern, Abby Craden and James
Otis in "Trelawny of the Wells."

“Trelawny of the Wells” A Noise
Within There are those among us who love drama. Those
people who talk about their grocery list as if it was Shakespeare.
Those people who, even when they aren’t on stage, like to act
as though they were. For those delicate and noble souls Sir Arthur
Wing Pinero’s “Trelawny of the Wells” could very
well be considered chicken soup for the drama soul. It is a
delightful play in every sense of the word. The story is filled
with whimsy and good-hearted plotting, the mood and characters are
delightfully dramatic, and the audience is left nothing less than
charmed at the end of the evening. The plot centers around Rose
Trelawny, the young star actor at the Wells theater company, and
the strife to which she subjects herself and her fellow characters
when she attempts to give up the limelight for a marriage into a
stodgy aristocratic family. As Rose, Abby Craden provides a
youthful and charismatic center to a more than adequate ensemble
cast with her mature, glowing performance. The other attention
grabbers are James Otis, who plays both a comic actor and a theater
prompter with a manic edge that borders between hilarious and
frightening, and William Dennis Hunt, whose portrayal of Sir
William Gower provides many of the finest and funniest moments in
the play. The play itself is a tried-and-true classic, featuring a
well-constructed story filled with puns and energetic comic
language. Its one weakness is Pinero’s assumption that having
characters repeat catch phrases at different times is inherently
funny, which in practice often falls flat. The sets and costumes,
while not eye-catching, blend in with the tone of the play to
convincingly create the end of the 19th-century small theater
ambiance. A sense that these places, characters and phrases belong
in the theater, have always been in the theater, and will always be
in the theater pervades the play. It’s warm, familiar,
territory, as well as it is both specific and universal enough to
be enjoyed by both drama and non-drama folk alike. “Trelawny
of the Wells” is a close cousin to many works whose intent is
at least partly to caricature theater types. The fun of this is
when the characters don’t feel like exaggerations, rather
actors mirroring a life they know (and enjoy) only too well. In the
end there is nothing that delights those involved with drama more
than their own plight.

Anthony Bromberg

“The Unexpected Man” Geffen
Playhouse “The Unexpected Man” is a
spectacular play that leaves the audience with a sense of delicious
satisfaction at the outcome of its events. Written by Tony and
Oliver Award-winning playwright Yasmina Reza, the production stars
Emmy winners Christopher Lloyd and Holland Taylor. The characters
referred to simply as “The Man” and “The
Woman” are French travelers sitting across from each other on
a train from Paris to Frankfurt. The Man is a famous author and The
Woman is a great fan of his work. The body of the play consists
mainly of their private desires expressed in monologues comprised
of their silent thoughts. The Man and The Woman contemplate their
lives and each other, and both grapple with the dilemma of being
the first to speak aloud. The first few minutes of the one-hour
play start slowly due to a lack of action and intensity. However,
the audience will not be disappointed, as the performance picks up
speed quickly and the viewer is drawn into the very personal
musings of these two strangers. Holland Taylor, who recently
starred in “Legally Blonde” and has won an Emmy for her
work on ABC’s “The Practice,” outshines Lloyd.
The audience cannot help but be drawn to her striking poise.
Taylor’s remarkable presence on the stage, coupled with her
subtle yet intense delivery of monologues, create a character who
exudes a passion for living. Taylor plays The Woman wonderfully as
an intense and plotting character who turns out to be surprisingly
girlish. The viewer will likely feel a strong connection to The
Woman while observing her desperate internal struggle to speak out
to The Man, an author she idolizes. Lloyd also gives an excellent
performance, and his character becomes more accessible as the play
progresses. The first word he utters, “bitter,” very
accurately describes the first impression the audience has of The
Man’s personality. Gradually, his gruffness melts away as he
notices The Woman reading his most recent work, and he too
struggles with the decision to speak audibly.

Sara Bamossy