Manchester
Newspapers, inc.
(Syndicated throughout the
Southern Vermont & Albany Regions including the Northshire Free Press,
The Granville Sentinel, Lake Region Free Press, etc.)
Dorset Theatre Festival Triumphs With “Redwood Curtain”
By Darrell R. Beebe
–
“This
was a treat of a play, dramatic but funny, entertaining but intelligent,
and at the end, very satisfying”
DORSET - A difficult aspect of reviewing
an institution like the Dorset Theatre Festival is to give the
performances their due credit without it sounding pandering, or
paragraphs full of empty praise. The truth in my eyes, however, is that
Dorset Theatre has had an incredible season this year. The cards were
stacked against them: the chaos of a million-dollar addition that was
not quite finished in time for the opening of the 2001 season, as well
as the lamentable death of brilliant artistic director Jill Charles.
Despite these staggering obstacles, some of the best plays ever written
and some of the finest actors in the business today have left a season
one should not forget.
The last play of the 2001 season was a
terrific character study, and shame to those who missed it. "Redwood
Curtain," by Lanford Wilson was a fascinating story partially about
those oft forgotten victims of the Vietnam War, the children of soldiers
who bedded Vietnamese women. Though it was in the lineup slot that I
like to call, albeit erroneously, "the heavy-handed drama slot", this
semi-comical play follows the teenaged Geri on a search for her father,
a Vietnamese vet who may or may not be living in California's redwood
forest, where thousands of Vietnamese veterans escaped to following the
war and America's betrayal of them. Geri, a piano prodigy, is obsessed
with finding her real father so that she can follow in his footsteps as
her birth culture dictates. She becomes convinced that Lyman Fellars, a
big, brooding refugee from society, is the one. The clues, including two
eyes that don't match and an eagle tattoo, certainly suggest that he may
indeed be the one, but the answers are not so easy to uncover as she
hopes. The play also focuses on Geri's aunt, who is fighting her own
battle to keep her lumber company and the redwood forest it owns.
The story delves into the characters'
stories with gusto, and we're presented with a tableau that is as
thought provoking and fascinating as it is entertaining. Geri annually
pushes aside her wealthy adopted parents so she can visit her aunt so
she can in turn scour the woods for her real father. Along the way she
makes up stories, any story, to get close enough to these men so she
might learn their secrets. Lying becomes as second nature to her as the
magic she claims she has at her disposal. She is an amusing character,
and is like liquid when confronted or caught by her own lies, easily
shifting into the shape of a new story until we, too, are wondering what
is real and what isn't. Actress Ann Hu obviously had a good time playing
her, and handled the character's intricacies well. While Wilson's
dialogue sometimes made Geri seem older than her years, that, too, is
kind of the point. Geri is connected by her Vietnamese heritage to
something far older than anything in America can compare, except,
perhaps, to the giant redwood trees that were seemingly old before the
dawn of mankind.
Gregory Northrop, quite dashing and
heroic in "Ten Little Indians," showed drastic departure from his
earlier role of the season as Lyman Fellars. Full of an unexpressed
anger and resentment toward fates who made him fight for his country but
then had that country turn his back on him, Fellars retreated not just
into the redwood forest, but into himself, as well. He is unable to
connect to people outside of himself, and is unprepared for Geri's
intrusion on his ghost-like life. Hostile and uncommunicative, Geri
manages to touch something inside him, which leads to his eventual
resurrection.
(Northrup gets a special thumbs up for
keeping his cool on opening night, when a wallet he was supposed to
rifle through instead took a wrong detour into the audience, much to the
audience's amusement. Still in character, Northrup simply thrust out his
hand with a luck that said "give it to me now", which the audience
member brave enough to pick it up willingly did, and saved an otherwise
awkward moment.)
One of the highlights of the play was
Paula Mann's performance as Geri's aunt. The role of the slightly
eccentric but compassionate woman suits Mann, and her gifts of comic
timing, which have been woefully underplayed in her past DTF
performances, shines here. She had such wonderful delivery that not a
single joke was missed in her capable hands. Mann may want to consider
more comedy in the future.
A sympathetic ear to Geri's plight, the
woman at the same time had her own demons to battle, most notably the
loss of her company to a hostile takeover. Even so, the character
demonstrated a strength to carry on with dignity that proved an
inspiration to her niece.
Director Gregg W. Brevoort surely had
his hands full bringing together the disparate factions of this
worthwhile play, but he did so with seeming ease. He should be commended
for provoking a fine performance out of all three actors, and urging the
drama on at a crisp pace that made at least this audience member forget
there was no intermission.
Naturally, I won't spoil the ending, but
will note that everything comes together in the end in a way that is
remarkably plausible and touching, even with the traces of magical
realism. This was a treat of a play, dramatic but funny, entertaining
but intelligent, and at the end, very satisfying.
Helping the play to achieve that level
of satisfaction was the set, designed by William John Aupperlee and
decorated with props by P.J. Tumielewicz. The suggestion of redwood
trees by these enormous pillars was effective in and of itself, and when
used in connection with the set piece to suggest the aunt's home, worked
beautifully as well. The lighting effects were also well done, and
helped capture the right moods at the right moments, especially during
Geri's "calling" scene in the forest.
My congratulations and thanks both to
cast and crew alike for a great performance of "Redwood Curtain," one
that served as a terrific close to a terrific season.
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