The month of March was an eventful one for the Rutherford County theatre community. Audiences witnessed the birth of a new theatre company; the passing of Jerry Bailey, one of Murfreesboro’s most beloved actors; and the one-year anniversary of Murfreesboro’s newest theater building. The month’s schedule guaranteed that Rutherford County theatergoers had more than enough to fill their dance cards every weekend.
No Drama Productions Debuts
This new theatre company offered its inaugural production to positive audience response. Presented at Out Front on Main, Tennessee Williams’s 27 Wagons Full of Cotton is a bleak story that focuses on the complex relationships between two rivals in the 1940s Mississippi cotton industry—Jake and Silva, and Flora, Jake’s wife. After Jake sabotages Silva’s ability to process his own cotton crop, Silva takes his revenge by insinuating himself into Flora’s life. As the play develops, the audience learns that Silva both fully realizes his rival’s guilt and intends to force repayment for his losses through repeated liaisons with Flora. In the end, Jake accepts the arrangement as essential for the continuation of his cotton business.
Given the lack of a curtain to hide the set, upon entering the theater the audience was greeted with the front porch of the farmhouse of Jake and Flora. The lights were dim, and the action for the play began in that low light reminiscent of the last hour before dawn in the Mississippi delta. Both the set and the lighting were beautifully designed and implemented; they were perfect combination of theatrical realism and the magical realism for which playwright Williams is famous.
The actors for this production are definitely no strangers to the Murfreesboro theatre community. The standout performer of the production was Deanna Payne in the role of Flora. In this role, Payne demonstrated depths of emotion that I had not seen in previous productions. Her deep and insecure need for Jake’s approval, her conflict between revulsion and intrigue at Silva’s advances and her simultaneous horror and acceptance of her future role in the survival of the family farm combine in a well-realized character and a very fulfilling performance.
As the warring landowners, Jeff Harr, in the role of Silva Vicarro, and Tony Lehew, playing the role of Jake, provided more than sufficient drama for the audience. Harr’s Silva was simultaneously charismatic and revolting. His movement and body language were both seductive and intimidating. As he proceeded with his assault on Flora’s body and spirit, the ease with which he violated her personal space was horrifyingly effective. The undercurrent of violence that electrified his performance was palpable as it rolled across the audience.
Lehew provided an excellent foil for Harr. His stalwart and stoic performance was equally disturbing, though for entirely different reasons. The audience questioned both his priorities and his intentions as he verbally abused, physically threatened and lovingly comforted his wife in a single five-minute period. This portrayal of domestic violence was realistic and unflinching; it was especially affecting in a venue as intimate as Out Front on Main. When Jake is faced with the choice between saving his wife from Silva’s advances and saving his farm from financial ruin, the audience may have been hopeful for the former, but the latter was an almost foregone conclusion.
While the individual performances were well-realized, the production suffered from one major drawback. 27 Wagons Full of Cotton had no director. No Drama Productions is helmed by Harr and Lehew as executive producers; via e-mail, Harr commented that it would be “an interesting experiment to self-direct.” According to Harr, the actors created their characters individually and later brought them together. As a result, many moments with true dramatic potential were lost. There were nuances of the conflicts that passed too quickly to be fully realized or absorbed by the audience. The shame is that one can only wonder how much better an already strong show could have been.
Center for the Arts Surprises Audiences
Other musicals scheduled for production at the Center for the Arts this and recent seasons are well-known Broadway successes, including January’s Hairspray, the upcoming Oklahoma! and Annie. This month’s production, however, was less familiar to audiences. Based on a novella by Southern author Eudora Welty, The Robber Bridegroom is a fantastical yarn of thievery, love and mistaken identities. If one can overlook the fact that the “hero” of the show is a confessed serial rapist, it’s actually quite enjoyable.
The set for the production was fantastic. It was a minimalist and modular design that allowed for several long planks to serve multiple purposes throughout the show. These planks became doors, beds, boats, and even a horse for one brief moment. The design and implementation of the set were truly very complementary with the fairy-tale nature of the show.
The cast of The Robber Bridegroom deserves a great deal of credit for their obvious dedication. The ensemble worked very well together; the choreography was well done (with the exception of an inexplicable ballet number that felt very oddly out of place in this show), and the music was exceptional. Musical director Denis Pessar should be commended for bringing together so many talented voices in such a harmonious way. However, the band for the production should note that wearing modern attire while visible to the audience does destroy a part of the illusion that theatre intends to create.
The leads for the show were fantastic too. The always exceptional Kinsey Brewer again proved himself to be one of Murfreesboro’s triple-threat performers in the role of Jamie Lockhart, the titular brigand. The show follows Lockhart’s escapades as he saves wealthy plantation owner Clement Musgrove, portrayed with honest humor by Steve Luboniecki, then deceives Musgrove into promising him a reward. Through Clement, the audience is introduced to Rosamund, the plantation owner’s daughter and Salome, Clement’s wife and Rosamund’s stepmother. Sydney Hicks was the incarnation of Mississippi charm and tomboyish enthusiasm as Rosamund, whose irrepressible antics encouraged more than her own share of comic foibles. Her grace and voice lit up the stage, and her Rosamund matched Brewer’s Lockhart note-for-note and step-for-step as their romantic entanglement and mistaken identities entertained. To contrast the young love of Lockhart and Rosamund, the audience was thrilled by the comic relief of Salome, the archetypal evil stepmother, played to the hilt by Beverly Wilkerson. Wilkerson surprised the audience with vocals that were as delightfully over-the-top and cacophonous as Brewer’s and Hicks’s were sonorous and beautiful. Her portrayal of Salome matched her vocal commitment; it was just as exuberantly exhausting to watch as she pitched and fretted over how best to rid herself of her stepdaughter.
The Robber Bridegroom fell short only with regards to its lighting. While the set was perfect and the cast was superb, too often these elements were hidden in the dark from the audience. The primary spotlight came up late repeatedly, on more that one occasion aimed at the wrong point on the stage, and it often fell behind the actor it was meant to follow. I had the impression that I knew the intention of the lighting design and that the intention was good, but it was in the implementation of the design where the production failed to impress.
Andy Woolszyn, Buddy Jones, Jared Pickett and Justin Hand in Out Front's production of Pillowman
Out Front on Main Continues to Push Boundaries
Murfreesboro’s newest theater, Out Front on Main, celebrated its one-year anniversary this month with a production of Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy The Pillowman. The play focuses on the police interrogation of fiction writer Katurian Katurian following a string of child murders that bear remarkable resemblance to murders described in the author’s work. The conflicted and submissive author was admirably played by Buddy Jones, who has apparently become indispensable at Out Front. His Gestapo-like tormentors, agents of the unnamed police state in which the play is set, were similarly well-played by Justin Hood, who played Detective Topolski, and Andy Woloszyn, who portrayed Detective Ariel. While these actors demonstrated substantial dramatic range, talent and comic timing, at times it felt as though they were too young to be completely convincing. Woloszyn’s Ariel was intended to be intimidating; Hood’s Topolski to be cavalier and commanding. Yet there were holes in the performance where the façade wore thin and the actors’ personas were more visible than their characters.
The unexpected brilliance of the production was Jared Pickett in the role of Michael, Katurian’s younger brother. The victim of an horrific social experiment at the hands of his parents, Michael is a model of sociopathic innocence, and Pickett was remarkably convincing in the role. The audience could not help but pity the murderous man—for it is Michael who confesses to the murders of which Katurian stands accused—as he explains the motivations for actions the ramifications of which no one is completely sure he can comprehend fully. Pickett deftly negotiated with the audience until they were as much his victims as the murdered children, powerless in his presence.
The supporting cast members of The Pillowman each added their own disconcerting elements to the story. The parents of Katurian and Michael, played by Steven Luster and Sherry Sunday-Booth, were oddly distant and aloof until Katurian smothered them to death in their sleep. The “Little Jesus Girl,” portrayed by Brenna Todd, was truly discomfiting as she relished her own torture, crucifixion and living burial. These supporting character interactions served to heighten the surreal drama of the show’s main story and remind the audience that the line between fact and fiction is often much more blurred than we would prefer.
As effectively disturbing as the actors’ performances were, The Pillowman was not without its difficulties. The set, very minimalist and stark, was also awkward and cramped. While I believe the cramped feeling was intentional, it appeared that the stage space was not utilized as well as one would expect. The actors often seemed to struggle against the constraints of the set rather than allowing it to support their performances. Additionally, the production was, frankly, too long. The only shows that should expect an audience to tolerate a runtime of almost three hours are musicals and Shakespeare, and even Shakespeare has his scripts trimmed for production. It would have been wise to cut some of the repeated jokes from the overly long first act in favor of a more focused presentation. Overall, however, the show was hauntingly enjoyable, and director George Manus should be pleased that his productions and his theater continue to breathe new life into the Murfreesboro theatre scene.
Garrett Troutt and Hayley Orozco star as Curly and Laurey in the Center for the Arts’ production of Oklahoma
Looking Ahead
April is sure to be enthralling and engaging for thespians and audience members alike. The Murfreesboro Little Theatre will present The Childrens’ Hour, opening April 8 and running for two weekends. This early 20th century play by Lillian Hellman demonstrates the often destructive power of gossip in a community. Starring Danielle Araujo and Jennifer Grissom, and with a very strong supporting cast of familiar actors, this production is sure to stir audiences’ emotions and minds.
Also opening April 8, Oklahoma! will be presented at the Center for the Arts. Kinsey Brewer will again take to the stage in what is guaranteed to be a fantastic production of this beloved musical.
Out Front on Main is offering Burn This by the late playwright Lanford Wilson. Starring Megan Blevins and Justin Hand, both familiar faces on the Out Front on Main stage, Out Front will challenge audiences with a tale of the pains of love, loss and art. Additionally, Out Front on Main will present The Marijuana-logs on April 20th at 7:30 p.m. and midnight.
The Siegel HIgh School Choral Department will present Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera” on April 14-19 in the Siegel High School Theatre. All shows are at 7 p.m., aside from April 17’s 2 p.m. performance. Brenda D. Gregory produces and directs with stage direction by D. Richard Browder and orchestra direction by Jameson Staley. The cast includes Will Duke, Katie Hahn, Alex Hochstetler, Kyle and Philip Boston, Crystal King, Victoria Bagnall and many other Siegel students along with a large professional orchestra. For more information, call Gregory at (615) 904-3800 ext. 29580.
Upcoming auditions include Murfreesboro Little Theatre’s production of Deathtrap, to be held April 11th and 12th at 6 p.m., and the Center for the Arts production of To Kill a Mockingbird, to be held April 10th and 11th at 6 p.m.
More information regarding upcoming events is available at the websites for each of the theaters: Murfreesboro Little Theatre, mltarts.com; Center for the Arts, boroarts.org; and Out Front on Main, outfrontonmain.com.
