[NEohioPAL] New Level of Excellence at Weathervane Playhouse

[Jan Harcar]

Review by David Ritchey in the West Side Leader 11/6/2008

Only 3 performances remain: Thurs., Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m., Fri., Nov. 14 and Sat., Nov. 15 at 8 p.m.
To purchase tickets: 330-836-2626 or weathervaneplayhouse.com

Weathervane stages 'winning' production
'Love! Valour!' raises playhouse to 'new level of excellence'
     
      Starring in Weathervane Community Playhouse's production of "Love! Valour! Compassion!" are, from left, Richard Worswick, Gregg Stickney, Zac Hudak, Pierre Brault, Scott Shriner, John Haller and Jasen Smith. 
     
      Photo courtesy of Weathervane Community Playhouse 
Weathervane Community Playhouse has moved to a new level of excellence with its production of "Love! Valour! Compassion!"

The story deals with eight gay men who visit a large country home two hours north of New York City. The home belongs to Gregory Mitchell (Richard Worswick), a well-known dancer-choreographer. The three acts of the play take place on successive summer holidays - Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day.

As the eight men visit, they reveal their vulnerabilities, anxieties and fears. Gregory is an aging dancer, whose performance career is at an end. In addition, because of his age, Gregory fears he is losing his young lover, Bobby Brahms (Gregg Stickney).

Buzz Hauser (Zac Hudak), another houseguest and a costume designer, is HIV positive and fears he may not live another year. However, at the house party, Buzz meets James Jeckyll (Scott Shriner), who also is HIV positive, and they start a relationship.

The most interesting guests at the party are John and James Jeckyll, identical twins (both played by Shriner). James is kind and considerate and is quickly welcomed into the circle of friends. John, often called the "evil twin," is unable to win the affection of the friends. He is included in the party only because he is an accompanist for Gregory's dance rehearsals.

As the summer wears on, the eight men form alliances and reform friendships and animosities.

Playwright Terrance McNally is considered one of the greatest of the living American playwrights. "Love! Valour! Compassion!" opened off-Broadway and soon moved to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway, where it ran for almost a year. The production received several Tony Awards, including best play (an award for McNally) and an acting award for John Glover.

McNally has earned four Tony Awards and one Emmy during his career. The Tony Awards were for "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Ragtime," "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and "Master Class."

The production now playing in Weathervane underscores why McNally received the Tony for "Love! Valour! Compassion!" This is an excellent, multi-layered, dense script. The three-dimensional characters in their vulnerabilities reveal qualities that challenge the audience to care for them and to forgive their sins. For example, Bobby is a blind office worker, and Mitchell's partner. Mitchell could not love Bobby more, but Bobby finds it impossible to be faithful to him. His infidelities bring pain to Mitchell, his friends and to himself.

Or consider Ramon Fornos (Pierre Brault), a talented dancer who has the potential to have a successful career. Yet, he cannot focus on his career and spends much of his holiday time flirting with men who should be out of his reach.

The play is about characters who, although privileged gay men, have the same problems as straight people and as men and women less privileged. This script and this production ring true and meaningful for all.

The Weathervane production's power belongs to an ensemble cast. The men work together, sharing the stage, evoking laughter and tears. Director Jim Fippin has shaped a significant production with the support of his cast. Fippin keeps the focus on the script and lets the actors tell the story without fireworks or unwarranted drama.

Shriner has developed his acting skills in the past few years. In this production, he plays twin brothers. Shriner walks on the stage and the audience immediately knows which character he is playing - with a subtle shift of his posture and a slight change of voice, he becomes the good or the evil twin. Shriner is doing some of his best work in this production.

Worswick constantly challenges his acting abilities. I first saw Worswick about 15 years ago in a Cleveland production of McNally's play "Lisbon Traviata." At that time, I thought Worswick was the best actor I'd seen perform in Ohio. I have not changed my opinion of him in the performances and the years since then.

Again, in "Love! Valour! Compassion!" Worswick pushes himself and creates a character who is at once winning and emotionally demanding.

Buzz is a costume designer who has encyclopedic knowledge of American musical theater. Nathan Lane created the role on Broadway, and Jason Alexander played the part in the movie. Hudak is considerably younger than either Lane or Alexander when they played Buzz, but he makes the role ring true.

"Love! Valour!" has comedic elements. But the playwright and director also cut deep, helping the viewers see life through a different set of eyes.

The folks at Weathervane have taken a big gamble with this production. The gamble resulted in a winning production that should be on your theater-going calendar.

"Love! Valour! Compassion!" continues through Nov. 15 in the John L. Dietz Theater at Weathervane. This is an adult production featuring adult situations, language and nudity. For tickets, call 330-836-2626.

David Ritchey has a Ph.D. in communications and is a professor of communications at The University of Akron. He is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association.

Janis Harcar
Director of Advancement
Weathervane Playhouse
330-836-2323 X16
www.weathervaneplayhouse.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20081110/ed8e725f/attachment-0003.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6968 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20081110/ed8e725f/attachment-0003.jpeg>