[NEohioPAL] Review of Ensemble Theatre's "St. Nicholas"

[Bob Abelman]

Ensemble Theatre offers a superb piece of short story storytelling

 

Bob Abelman

 

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times,

The Morning Journal, Geauga Times Courier

Member, American Theatre Critics Association 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 11/25/11

 

The extended monologue-that is, one person, one story and a stage-has become a lost art form in contemporary theater.  If not lost, it most certainly has lost its way, having transformed from a dramatic art into a performance art.

 

There are Sketch Comedy Productions, such as David Sedaris' SantaLand Diaries (opening this week at Cleveland Public Theatre), which offer character-driven storytelling with sitcom simplicity.  

 

Standup Self-Disclosures, such as John Leguizamo's Broadway debut Freak and Billy Crystal's Tony Award-winning 700 Sundays, are another mutation.  Here standup comedians showcase their power of observation by turning it inwards and molding isolated life experiences into a composited biodramedy.  

 

A variation on this theme are shows like Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, which string together several short monologues that address a related topic-in this case, the mysteries of the female anatomy-but have no connective storyline. 

 

This is not to suggest that these are lesser art forms. just different, and by different I mean less meaty, less moving and significantly less theatrical than Ensemble Theatre's current production of Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas .

 

Irish playwright Conor McPherson has forged a career out of penning extended monologues that are delightful pieces of short story storytelling.  St. Nicholas is McPherson's fourth play.

 

Each of his plays share several defining attributes.  They transpire over a short period of time, which generates a strong sense of immediacy and urgency.  The person telling the story directly addresses the audience throughout the production, which creates an intimate atmosphere that is more confessional than theatrical.  These individuals are overtly aware that they are telling a story and that they are its central character.  This odd self-awareness adds a touch of quirkiness that bites at the heels of the each play's dramatic conceit and propels its comedy.

 

Also, each of these plays is brilliantly written.  Conor McPherson is a master storyteller and his work overflows with vivid imagery and passages that are both powerful and poetic.

 

As a result, McPherson's monologues are riveting, resonating engagements that stir a strong audience response rather than the mere audience reaction inspired by their performance art counterparts. 

 

So good is St. Nicholas that it is thoroughly engaging despite its highly implausible premise.  The play features a middle-aged, self-hating theater critic who, at the apex of his alcoholism and disillusionment, befriends and becomes good-will ambassador for a colony of vampires.  Armed or, rather, charmed with newfound social graces, he lures young bar denizens to the vampires' lair.  After an evening of living-dead seduction they are given euphoric amnesia and sent on their way.

 

What makes the Ensemble Theatre production of St. Nicholas a theater experience not to be missed is that the playwright, director Sarah May, and actor Dana Hart are all on the same page.  Each is singularly driven to tell a good story, and that they do.

 

Utilizing Ian Hinz's simple but strategic lighting and bare-bones set design, May has laid a sure path and firm platform on which Hart can take creative risks.  She understands both the humor and the horror of our hero's plight, and brings both to the forefront.

 

Hart is enchanting.  He manages to make the play's despicable hero relatable, if not likeable, and does this through the sheer mastery of his craft.   His eye contact is deep and probing, establishing a connection with the audience that reinforces his character's authenticity within this gothic fantasy.  We see his character working his way through the fog of the unknown and figuring out what is happening to him at the same time he reveals it. He, like us, revels in his revelations.  

 

St. Nicholas -one person, one story and a stage-is, quite simply, a superb piece of theater.

 

St. Nicholas continues through December 11 at the Ensemble Theatre, 2843 Washington Blvd. in the Coventry neighborhood of Cleveland Heights.  For tickets, which range from $10 to $20, call 216-321-2930 or visit www.ensemble-theatre.org.
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