A Dynamic Defiance, Musterious Mousetrap and Octette Bridge Club
Three plays this week that examine troubles in Paradise. The first review is of an absolutely stunning theatrical production, a heart rending examination of right and wrong in John Patrick Shanley’s masterpiece entitled “Defiance”. This caustic and brilliantly written play that examines race relations and immorality in military leaders, opened this past week in Playhouse West’s remodeled little gem of a theatre at their original Locust Street location, 1345 Locust.
The second production is the classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie, The Mousetrap, produced by the Center Repertory Company in the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. The third appears at first to be a Norman Rockwell type literary portrait of eight Irish Catholic sisters and their family get-togethers twice a month, for a round of gossip, home-baked pie, card playing, and camaraderie, in a P. J. Berry play, entitled, “The Octette Bridge Club”.
“Defiance” at Playhouse West, Walnut Creek:
The time is 1971 and Lt. Colonel Littlefield (played by Louis Parnell) is the commanding officer at the Marine training base at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Drug problems and racial tensions on the base are on the rise, acerbated by angry and addicted men returning form Vietnam. Racial tensions are growing more divisive now that Black Power advocacy is filtering into the camp and authority is being questioned openly.
Littlefield is nearing retirement and he is frustrated that his military tenure as commander of this base is being marred by the increasing arrests and problems that are growing like a silent and deadly cancer. His draft-aged son has moved to Canada to avoid the draft and Littlefield and his wife, Margaret (Heather Mathieson), are deeply divided by what the Lt. Colonel sees as his son’s desertion from his “American” obligations and patriotic values. His wife has deep concerns that her husband’s devotion to the Corps has colored his wisdom as to what she perceives as the greater values, the humanitarian values verses the political objectives of those who direct the military.
Littlefield’s service career has encompassed two wars, the Korean campaign through the Vietnam War. With little that he can point to as his personal military milestones or success, he is bound and determined to bring the racial problems on “his base”, to a more manageable state. He is determined to win this personal “war”.
Into this fray is drawn a brilliant young black officer, Captain Lee King (David Stewart). Captain King wants nothing to do with the political and racial atmosphere surrounding him. He merely wants to serve his country as a devoted military man, do his job well but remain “colorless” in the performance of his job. Lt. Colonel Littlefield intends that he use this young officer as an example of what “cooperating” blacks can achieve. To this objective, Littlefield elevates King to the position of his “second in command”, his executive officer, promoting him over the heads of three equally qualified white officers. This is a tremendous opportunity and honor, that at this time and at this level, were simply not available to black military officers. Captain King fights the promotion as he recognizes its “black” implications but under extreme pressure, acquiesces.
Littlefield also demonstrates that his concern for equal treatment of black soldiers is genuine. He believes that there is no place in the Marine Corps for racial inequities, no black, no white, and that in the Corps everything is simply and ultimately green!
A new protestant Chaplain, Chaplain White (Mike Reynolds), has been assigned to the base and has been sharply criticized by Littlefield for being unrealistic and divisive with his “bible-banging” sermons. The commander encourages the chaplain to be more down-to-earth and tolerant in his sermons, especially with these men who have encountered and succumbed to so many temptations while stationed in the drug prone Vietnam theatre. Chaplain White takes this as a personal affront and is determined to “get even” with his commander.
It isn’t long before an opportunity arises when a young marine comes to him seeking help with his anger after discovering that his wife has been having an affair with his commander, Lt. Colonel Littlefield! While the minister cannot do anything with this confidential bombshell, he can and does report the indiscretion to the new executive officer, Captain Lee King, who must, by military law take action. If King does so, it will bring down his commander and benefactor, and at the same time, in reality, by virtue of the unwritten code inherent in the corps that one must at all costs protect his officers, he will sign his own professional career death warrant.
Is dedication and morality a double edged sword? Does degree of fault on the commander’s side verses degree of fault on the young woman’s side enter into his ultimate decision? I’m afraid you will have to see the play to find out where this tension-riddled and ascorbic ride takes the audience.
This terrific play and outstanding production, under the direction of Playhouse West’s new Managing Artistic Director, Adam Fitzgerald, proves that Lois Grandi’s Playhouse West is one of the best theatres in the area and that it is fully back in town, delivering the kind of theatre we have come to expect from Playhouse West.
There are seven set changes that are handled with choreography reminiscent of a Broadway level production and the costumes, under the guidance of Cindy Sarmiento, are good but not perfect in detail. The actors are without a doubt as good as it gets, bringing a level of professionalism that is seldom paralleled in local theatre. In addition to the actors already mentioned, John Hale appears as the Gunny Sergeant and Alex Kirschner appears as the young Private First Class, Evan Davis, whose wife has an affair with Littlefield.
This outstanding drama continues Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday performances at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., now through October 25th. Call 942-0300 for ticket information or reservations and you can visit their website at www.playhousewest.org for more information. The theatre is located at 1345 Locust Street in downtown Walnut Creek, next door to Peet’s Coffee.
“The Mousetrap” enthralls and entertains Walnut Creek audiences
I would think that there are few theatre goers who are not familiar with this classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie. I believe it is still considered the longest continuously running play in London. This production has to be one of the best, if not the best production of this funny and highly entertaining murder mystery I have ever seen!
A group of snowbound vacationers gather at a newly opened guest Inn called Monkswell Manor, only to discover that there is a murderer in their midst. Each of the characters has his own quirky background and reasons to remain silent when questioned about their familiarity with a crime against some children that occurred many years ago near this Inn, a crime which in someway is connected to a recent murder in London, and a trail of evidence that has lead a police officer to this place, purportedly to protect its visitors.
The actors selected by director Timothy Near, are absolutely perfect for the director’s interpretation of their character. The husband and wife who run the inn, Giles and Mollie Ralston (played by Mark Anderson Phillips and Carrie Paff) have recently married before deciding to purchase and renovate this old guest inn. The guests, both invited and uninvited, include Major Metcalf (James Carpenter), Christopher Wren (Mark Farrell), Mrs Boyle (Kerri Shawn), Miss Casewell (Cassie Beck) and Paravichini (Michael Butler). A police detective, Sergeant Trotter (Craig Marker) arrives, explaining that the police are investigating a recent murder in London, they discovered a notebook left behind at the scene of the crime which indicated that the murderer might be heading next for Monkswell Manor. Somehow, the police have surmised that the guests who have just arrived at the inn, may be in someway connected with the murderer, and may be at risk!
The play evolves around the additional murder of a resident at the inn and the intrigues connecting the inn’s guests to the earlier event. I don’t want to explore the mystery more, but highly recommend that if you have not seen this play, then by all means, this should be high on your list as outstanding entertainment that will keep you in suspense. Absolutely outstanding, a runaway success!
The set, under the artistic guidance of Kelly Tighe, is absolutely magnificent. The costumes by Elizabeth Poindexter, are quite perfect.
“The Mousetrap” continues Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Satrudays at 8 p.m., and with Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m., now through November 17t. Call 943-7469 for reservations or visit the ticket office located in the theatre complex at 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek. You may wish to visit the auxiliary ticket outlet at Barnes and Noble in Walnut Creek.
''The Octette Bridge Club” opens in Pleasant Hill
The opening vignette of ''The Octette Bridge Club”, introduces us to eight sisters in Providence, R.I., who have gathered at their sister’s house for their fourth anniversary card playing gathering. On the surface they are a merry, close-knit clan of Irish descent. They laugh and giggle as a newspaper photographer takes pictures of their ''club'' for the Sunday rotogravure section. They speak or sing in unison at the drop of a hat. The year is 1934, and, as the women never cease reminding us, this was a time when families still had roots, values, and where family unity was all important.
Playwright, P. J. Barry wants to have his Norman Rockwell and a little Edgar Lee Masters (poet who wrote the famous Spoon River Anthology), in the same soup. Hardly has the photographer left the house than some of the gabby bridge-playing sisters drop broad hints of trouble in Providence. One of the sisters, Betsy (Siobhan O’Brien), is ''moody'' and ''melancholy.'' Another, Ann (Teresa Wilson Grosserode), may have a husband who drinks too much. And still another, Mary (Barbara Halperin Jacobs), is suffering from palpitations that may or may not be attributable to the previous night's meal of Chinese food. In Mr. Barry's reality, beneath the surface of the sunny familial conviviality and Roman Catholic pieties of his characters, you'll find hypocrisy and heartbreak.
Unfortunately, the playwright doesn't destroy the illusion quickly, instead he unmercifully picks away at it. It takes the entire first act for the women to begin to discover what the audience can guess in the first 15 minutes, that there is a very rocky road beneath the sisters in this little Rhode Island town.
Act II is set at another club meeting a decade later, 1944, with patriotic symbolism everywhere. At this time, the minor ailments of Act I have predictably become major ones – with at least two characters having passed through hospitals, one with mental problems, and the other, disabled following a stroke. The times, too, are a-changing. Everyone has new hairdos, and the youngest sister has gained a raised consciousness, as evidenced by her refusal to wash her husband's shirts and her much more liberal vocabulary.
Does Mr. Barry examine his women in depth? No! Although he ultimately allows seven of the sisters to betray the eighth, in a callous demonstration of venomous reprisal, the characters immediately and miraculously see the evil of their ways and all vow to behave better in the future. Farfetched and underdeveloped, Barry fails to intelligently expose the sham of many who hide their true colors under religious artificiality. ''The Octette Bridge Club'' ends as it begins - with a touched-up, sentimentalized tableau of family harmony suitable for mounting on a bathroom wall, “God Bless Our House!”, where it should have been stated, “God Forgive our House!”, instead! Had this play been written in the 1930’s I could understand the shallow, mechanical, and just plain dumb filler and sentimental goo this author resorts to, in lieu of real substance, but this was written in 1985!
In this production, there are some really exceptional portrayals for community theatre and they somewhat save us from the lackluster and predictable writing by its author. While all of the ladies are quite enjoyable, my hat is off to Siobhan O’Brien, Barbara Halperin Jacobs, Teresa Wilson Grosserode, Susanne Bagnio, and Linda Sciacqua for their moving performances. The other actresses include Joyce Tubb, Marianne Roberts, Candice Carter, and Ted Powell (the photographer/reporter). Director Helen Means does the best she can with what she’s got, but other than the performances by the lead characters and a touching scene at the very end, there is not a lot going for us in this play.
This play continues Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:30, with Thursday performances at 8 p.m., and with Sunday performances at 2:30 p.m., on November 8th and 15th, closing on November 17th. Performances are in the Donald G. Means Memorial Auditorium, at The School House, at 2050 Oak Park Boulevard in Pleasant Hill. Call 944-9006 for ticket and reservation information.