ORPHEUS DESCENDING BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
Theater for a new audience's production at Polonsky Shakespeare Center of Tenessee Williams play, Orpheus Descending, is a treat in many ways because Tennessee is one of the most lyrical writer of our times and this play is not produced often and that's the reason of the anticipation and the excitement of the wait before you rush to the theater to hear the great melodious poetry. The language and the poetry is very much there and it's a great joy to sit and watch this Southern Gothic tale resembling a bit of a Greek tragedy, with many characters who are into Tennessee's lyrical language and express it very well.
The location is a drygoods store in a Southern town run by an American Italian middle aged lady named
Lady Torrance (Maggie-Siff). She has a tragic past. Her father had been murdered in a fire while he was trying to save his wine garden and her husband is a redneck, violent brute and a bully. They live on top of the store and he is sick under the care of a nurse. LadyTorrance runs the store on her own.
There is also a drunk drifter, Carol (Julia Mcdermott). Though she is a free spirit but like many of Tennessee's character is totally lost. Her poetic expression is her only freedom but she is imprisoned as well like many others in this town full of bigots.
Another artistic soul who loves to paint is Vee -Talbot (Anna Reeder) married to a racist Sherrif, Talbot (Brian Keane) who detests her amaturish artistic bend and is a violent man.
And we can't forget Valentine Xavier (Pico-Alexander) The handsome young man, a drifter wearing a snake skin jacket who just turned thirty and is very proud of it and keep mentioning it often.
He wanders in the store with a guitar and ask lady Torrance for a job. She asks for references and he shows her one and the reference indicates that he is hard working, good guy, honest and all that but had been let go because he is a bit ,"Peculiar" a favorite word of Tennessee Williams. And that is the reason that Valentine was fired.
Lady Torrance gives him a job and is smitten by him because she has been very repressed sexually and oppressed by all the bullies of that town and is trapped in her extremely unhappy marrige.
Her husband who is sick upstairs but not sick enough to knock so loud on the floor of his room upstairs that it startles not only lady Torrance but scares the whole house. Thats an order for her to go upstairs.
But there is a problem in this play and that is the lack of burning chemistry of longing between the two lead charatcers.
The problem is the lack of fire burning between lady Torrance and Valentine Xavier. There is very little magnatism and danger of desire and sexuality though both characters try their best but the sparks have to fly from the moment Valentine Xavier enters that store but unfortunately the fire doesn't ignite. Also Maggie-Siff is too elegant and sophisticated for this role. Lady Torrance is a firy Italian with rough and tough edges and Xavier is very handsome but doesn't show the burning desire for the lady.
Because of this lack of sexual chemistry the production doesn't burn, it becomes a bit icy.
The set by Amy Rubin is good, serves the purpose of claustrophobia which is necessary but somehow doesn't serve some scenes especially the most intimate scene between Lady Torrance and xavier which is kind of lost on an over crowded set.
David Weiner's lights are pretty effective and creates an atmosphere of despair.
The play is directed by Erica Schmidt. She does her best but there are inherrent problems in the script
and the lead roles are miscast thogh they are brilliant actors but somehow lack that peculier energy.
But still I enjoyed the whole production and all the actors a great deal. I am a huge fan of Tennessee Williams like the whole world and I try never to miss any of his plays and I am always ready to have a great time and I did. There is no poet playwright like him and there is no poetry anywhere which touches the depth of your soul like his language full of lyricism and sadness. With all the little unfortunate hiccups this play is very well worth attending.
REVIEWED
by
BINA SHARIF
ATCA
Founder/publisher of: artsinernational.blogspot.com
Email:binashariff@gmail.com
Mobile: 212-260-6207
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