[NEohioPAL] Berko review: BIG LOVE (convergence-continuum)

[Roy Berko]

‘BIG LOVE,’ a
fun, bizarre experience at convergence continuum
 
Roy Berko
 
(Member,
American Theatre Critics Association)
 
--THE TIMES
NEWSPAPERS--
 
Lorain
County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times  
 
--coolcleveland.org
 
If you’ve
ever attended a play at convergence continuum, Tremont’s 40-seat off-off
Playhouse Square theatre, you know that the weirder the script, the more Clyde
Simon, the venue’s artistic director, likes it.  Charles Mee’s ‘BIG LOVE perfectly fits Simon’s passions.
 
‘Big Love’is an adaptation of ‘THE SUPPLIANT MAIDENS, an
ancient Greek play by Aeschylus.  In its updated version, it is set on the southern coast of modern
Italy.  The story concerns 50
brides who flee their 50 grooms and seek asylum at a costal Italian villa.  The brides arrive clothed in their
wedding dresses, supposedly having swum to shore (from where we do not
know).  They are met by the villa’s
colorful family (a swinging old stereotypically dressed Italian lady who has
mothered a brood of boys), her gay attendant, her devoted oldest son, and a
couple of eccentric visitors.  Attempts to convince the brides to consent to marry don’t work and the
women come to the conclusion that they will marry, kill their husbands on the
wedding night, and then live happily ever after.  (I told you Simon loves the bizarre.)  Of course, there are lots of twists and
turns and dead body parts flying around.
The convergence
stage won’t hold 50 couples, so we only meet three of them.  One “bride” is a strident feminist,
while her groom is the ultimate misogynist; a second bride is a slightly
airheaded Cinderella who only wants a man to take care of her, and she is
betrothed to a puppy dog man who is none too bright. The third couple
represents the happy medium.
Author Mee says of the
script, "I wanted to go back to one of the earliest plays of the Western
World and see how it would look today.  See if it still spoke to the moment, and of course it does. It’s all about
refugees and gender wars and men and women trying to find what will get them
through the rubble of dysfunctional relationships, and anger and rage and
heartache.”
 
Convergence’s
production is basically well done.  The cast, with a  couple of
exceptions is fine.  Lauren Smith
(Thyona) is right on target as the women’s libber bride (and, if you say
differently, she appears like she can beat the bejeebers out of you).  Laurel Johnson looks like she just
escaped from a Barbie doll wrapping and plays the air headed Olympia with
perfect ease.  Liz Conway (Lydia)
plays the “normal” bride with the right touch of certainty and
uncertainty.  Their “grooms” are
equal to the task.  Scott Gorbach
(Nilos) does a perfect Forrest Gump.  His constant dazed expression is priceless.  Studly Geoffrey Hoffman (Constantine) is the macho Alpha man
incarnate and Stuart Hoffman plays straight, straight.  
 
Lucy
Bredeson-Smith (Bella) is hysterical as the “innocent” promiscuous old lady who
has a history of mothering children with various men who are the “loves of her
life.”  Her polishing tomatoes
scene is a show stopper.
 
Guitarist
Mark K uses his guitar well to bridge scenes and moods.
 
Bobby
Williams as Piero, Bella’s son, spends too much time feigning and posing to
develop a realistic presentation, while Tony Thai overdoes every fay gay
stereotypical movement to portray Marco.  His feet hardly hit the floor as he flits around.  
 
Jeremy Paul
has created some impressive animation videos and Jim Smith’s set is impressive. 
 
There are
production problems.  The bride’s
crawl on shore, after being in the water, and emerges totally dry.  Also, we can see clearly through the
gauzy front screen and see the fake pantomiming of the“killings,” and….(but it
matters little, the whole bizarre thing works).
 
Capsule Judgement:
Charles Mee’s ‘BIG LOVE,’ in all of its craziness has a message or two and gets
a fun production at convergence-continuum.  The theatre only has 39 seats, so if you are planning on
going, call now!
 
‘BIG LOVE’ runs at 8 pm
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through August 22 at convergence-continuum’s
artistic home, The Liminis, which is at 2438 Scranton Rd. in Cleveland’s
Tremont neighborhood. For information and reservations call 216-687-0074. 
 
The theatre’s next
offering is ‘FINN IN THE UNDERWORLD’ by Jordan Harrison, opening September
18.  It is a contemporary Gothic
tale that has been called “deliciously creepy” and “a time-bending
thriller.”  What else would you
expect from Simon?
 
 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.)