[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE MINEOLA TWINS (convergence-continuum)

[Roy Berko]

‘THE MINEOLA
TWINS’ opens convergence continuum season
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member,
American Theatre Critics Association)
 
 
--THE TIMES
NEWSPAPERS--
 
Lorain
County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times  
 
--coolcleveland.org
 
Paula Vogel,
the author of ‘THE MINEOLA TWINS, which is now in production at convergence
continuum, has been a productive playwright since  the 1970s.  She
is the kind of writer whose works fit perfectly into the convergence play
selection criteria of choosing scripts that challenge the audience.  W
 
Although no
particular theme or topic dominates her work, she often examines controversial
issues such as sexual abuse, AIDS and prostitution. Vogel says,
"My writing isn't actually guided by issues. ... I only write about things
that directly impact my life." 
 
Following her
smashing success and Pulitzer Prize for ‘HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE,’ Vogel
followed up with ‘THE MINEOLA TWINS,’ a feminist condemnation of both the right and the left, which was staged in New York, with
super-star Swoozie Kurtz.  The play
received mixed reviews, and lasted only 3 months.
 
Identical
twins Myra and Myrna are children of the 50s.   Myrna, she of extremely large breasts, is the Republican conservative one, while flat-chested Myra is a poster child for the rabble-rousing
liberal.  In six scenes and four
dream sequences set in 1955, 1968, and 1990, the two mortal enemies battle one
another and their opposing beliefs, tearing down each other and their loved
ones, in a battle to the death.
 
The
convergence production, under the directorship of Clyde Simon, generally works
well.   Unfortunately, on the
night I saw the play there were line stumbles, slow pacing, long set changes.  On the other hand, the laughs were
plentiful and the over-the-top story clearly developed. 
 
Lucy Bredeson-Smith plays
both twins.  This is a difficult
task in the small 50-seat theatre that makes every movement obvious.  On a traditional proscenium stage the
changes of clothing and sets could have been hidden, but not in this
space.  She nicely separates the
characters as they age.
 
 
Geoffrey Hoffman is
excellent in the early scenes, but becomes unfocused as the play rolls on.  Bret Holden is fine in the young boy roles.
Pandora Robertson’s choreographed set changes are clever and her development of
Sarah, the lesbian lover of Myra, is well developed.
 
Whoever designed and/or
selected the wigs did the cast a major disservice.  The wigs used to aid in doubling
and tripling of characters kept falling off or going askew, which
unfortunately, made serious scenes humorous.
 
Capsule Judgement:  ‘THE MINEOLA TWINS’ fits well into
convergence’s production philosophy that expands the
imagination and extends the conventional boundaries of language, structure,
space, and performance that challenges the conventional notions of what theatre
is.
 
‘THE MINEOLA TWINS’ runs
at 8 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through May 2 at
convergence-continuum’s artistic home,  The Liminis, at 2438 Scranton Rd. in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood.
For information and reservations call 216-687-0074. 
 
 
 Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2009, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info

His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)