The Age of Discovery
This comedy-drama is written by Jim Leonard, Jr. and
directed by Sarah Ominski. It is playing
at the Calvin Church, 10445 SW Canterbury Lane in Tigard, through May 21st. For more information, go to their site at www.maskandmirror.com or call
503-333-1139.
As Dickens famously wrote, in his opening to a classic novel,
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” and so it is, too, with
any age of discovery. The years just
after the end of the Civil War for America, through the thirties, were times of
monumental changes and profound revelations.
Moving pictures, the end of slavery, women’s voting right, prohibition,
the stock market crash, not to mention another War in Europe, electricity and
the telephone, industrialization, et. al.
Medicine/health was not to be dismissed either, as they, too, were at
the vanguard of change. Leeches and home
remedies were out and blood typing, pasteurization, quarantines, autopsies,
sterilization from germs, etc. was in, or soon would be.
The time of this story is the mid-West of the 1880’s, the
infancy of these changes. But this is
not just a history lesson but sprinkled with odds bits of parallels to other
stories and characters, such as Professor Marvel from the Oz tales; a salute to
Wilder’s, “Our Town,” both in story-telling style and personas; and, by the
end, homage to, perhaps the most famous birth in history. Ominski, the director, has the unenviable job
of keeping it all together with just a few props, some authentic-looking period
clothing by Viola Pruitt, nicely rendered, and some effective lighting by Brian
Ollom. And this cornucopia of oddities and
tributes works surprisingly well and gives us a sample of a microcosm of human
behavior having to deal, sometimes harshly, with change.
I really can’t tell you a whole lot about the plot, as much
of it concerns devices which the audience should discover. But the story has to do with a rural
community, consisting of June (Caitriona Johnston), a teenager, and her mother,
Rebekah (Renae Iversen), having just buried the patriarch of the family at the
beginning of the play. Pastor Winfield
(Ted Schroeder) and his maiden sister, Tiny (Donna Haub), seem to be the head
of a rather religious township. Other
prominent citizens seem to be a dedicated farmer, Crutch (John Knowles), and
his wife, Belva (Pat Romans); Maggie (Emily Smith), a bit of a gossip, who runs
the town eatery and watering hole; and Homer (Linh Nguyen), although a friendly
chap, a bit of a ne’er-do-well when it comes to actually working. As well as a host of town-folk that, go with
the flow.
Into their lives appears a doctor out of the blue (literally),
Galen Gray (Aaron Morrow), who is a god-send to some, for other than medical
reasons in some cases, and a curse to others, as home remedies for ailments seem to be a
thing of the past. As he roots himself
into the town, some radical changes must be made in their lives, which are not
always welcome because, as a harbinger of progress, he alienates tried and
accepted ways of dealing with health concerns and introduces, what some would
consider, invasive ways of dealing with sickness. And here is where I have to leave off, as the
rest is for an audience’s eyes and ears only.
But a major medical issue will manifest itself and all their lives will
change forever.
I’ve always liked the story-telling approach to plays, as it
rests solely on an actor’s talent, the author’s words and an audience’s
imagination to relate the story. This
production lends well to that philosophy.
Morrow, as the key character, does very well with the role, having to
waver back and forth between being understanding with folks and yet needing to
introduce new ways of dealing with things.
Smith and Knowles do very well in giving us a sample of rural mentality
of over a hundred years ago. And,
Johnston, as another focal character, is extremely good, revealing the angst of
a youth, not entrenched yet with the old ways but curious and eager to be
exposed to the new. A difficult role but
she does it well. It would be good to
see more of her onstage.
I recommend this show.
If you do choose to see it, please tell them Dennis sent you.
No comments:
Post a Comment