Monday, October 13, 2008

Don’t Forget

So just because a show opened several weeks ago, don’t forget that it’s still running. Have you seen “Side Show” yet? Well, it’s still out there and time’s running out! We lucked out with “Driving Miss Daisy” – it’s been extended to Nov. 2nd. That’s still no reason to sit on your hands – make plans now!

Personally, I grabbed my chance to see “Eurydice” before it closed on Saturday and I’m glad I did. It was the kind of experience I’ve had before that, in my opinion, highlights the incredible challenge facing playwrights these days. Basically, I enjoyed all of the performances immensely but the play itself, not so much. It was funny in parts, charming in others, confusing in places, and sometimes just a little too self-consciously poetic. If I was reviewing it, I wouldn’t have been quite as harsh as this slam from summer of 2007. I would have expressed similar reactions, though, and the adjective “artsy-fartsy” that Heilpern uses has a certain resonance for me. To paraphrase something I heard someone say about the play, “it’s the kind of play that makes me feel stupid, like everything means something that I’m supposed to get but I don’t.”

Having said that, I thought Joe Inscoe was transcendent, as he so often is. Maybe it was his fatherly affection that hit me so hard, but more likely, I think it is the precision of his performance. I think there is intention in everything he does and yet he never looks like he’s working at it. I could have even watched him make and dismantle that house of string another time or two.

Laine Satterfield was a luminous and sympathetic Eurydice. She was sweet, but not sickly so. I have to say I enjoy her more in a more complicated role, like Diane in “Little Dog Laughed,” where the innocence she projects betrays more involved things going on underneath. But she was great as the conflicted Eurydice and, within the confines of the script, made her character compelling. Larry Cook was a hoot in his dual roles: he seemed to be having a ball. Chris Hester had probably the most thankless part as Orpheus but he had a winning determination and visible affection for his doomed lover. The “stones” were all grand and I particularly enjoyed seen Lauren Leinhaas-Cook onstage again.

The production with all of its water elements was indeed ambitious and I’m sure posed a number of challenges that the Firehouse technical team handled with aplomb. Kudos to Rusty Wilson for bringing together such a great team and a wonderful cast.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Laine Satterfield is a lovely actress. Her unique, almost "mermaid-esque" beauty is always a delight to see on stage, and she is a very nice person, too.

Dave T said...

Indeed, Ms. Satterfield has impressed me with most everything I can remember her appearing in since she galvanized my attention in "MacBeth" back in 2006.

Anonymous said...

i am glad you were able to see the show. while i do agress that the show was sometimes gets too caught up in itself, i think the cast was great and all performances were superb.

i agree that chris hester's role is not the most showy, but i am pleased to see him do some different things. i also respct the versitility in his ability.

i saw reefer madness over the summer and was blown away with both of his performances in the show - very different in the same show.

in eurydice, he was able to handle subtle and touching in a convincing way. i had to read the playbill to see that it was in fact him in reefer.

that is acting. versitility and ability to transcend different genres.

kudos to all for the great experience and thanks dave for your comments.

Anonymous said...

i am glad you were able to see the show. while i do agress that the show was sometimes gets too caught up in itself, i think the cast was great and all performances were superb.

i agree that chris hester's role is not the most showy, but i am pleased to see him do some different things. i also respct the versitility in his ability.

i saw reefer madness over the summer and was blown away with both of his performances in the show - very different in the same show.

in eurydice, he was able to handle subtle and touching in a convincing way. i had to read the playbill to see that it was in fact him in reefer.

that is acting. versitility and ability to transcend different genres.

kudos to all for the great experience and thanks dave for your comments.

Anonymous said...

Laine played Ellen in LDL. But the description was still apt :)

Dave T said...

Oops! Thanks for the catch on Ellen/Diane, Anon! My memory is obviously slipping...

Jacquie O. said...

I also wanted to remind everyone that this is the last week to catch Henley Street Theatre Company's Richard III at the Pine Camp Center. We have shows on Thurs, Fri and Sat at 8pm.