[NEohioPAL] Review of "Over the Tavern" at Aurora Community Theater

[Bob Abelman]

Underwhelming 'Over the Tavern' at Aurora Community Theater

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 11/2/12

 

Tom Dudzick's "Over the Tavern," currently on stage at the Aurora Community Theatre, is not just another broad comedy about being raised Catholic in the 1950s.

 

Yes, like the play "Late Night Catechism," there's the obligatory rosary-clasping, ruler-wielding, rule-spouting nun at the crux of the story.  And, yes, like "Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" there are precocious children uttering astute observations about life well beyond their years and experience.   

 

However, "Over the Tavern" does not succumb to clichés, go for the cheap laughs, or parade cardboard people on stage.  This delightful play has heart, depth of character, and well-written laugh lines grounded in the drama of the family dynamic.

 

The story is told through the eyes of inquisitive 12-year-old Rudy Pazinski, whose outside-the-box thinking puts him at odds with the Baltimore Catechism tenets he is force-fed in Catholic School and the traditional, dysfunctional family he comes home to.  

 

Rudy's father Chet (Adam Young) is a walking time-bomb one small disappointment or unrealized dream away from exploding.  At the receiving end of his sudden outbursts and emotional distance is wife Ellen (Jenifer Warren), rebellious oldest son Eddie (Cody Kilpatrick Steele), lost teenager Annie (Hannah Gang), mentally challenged youngest son Georgie (Robby Albrecht) and, of course, Rudy (Trevor Sobol).

 

Because the play and its two sequels ("King o' the Moon" and "The Last Mass at St. Casimir's") are semi-autobiographical, the stories are told with a tinge of misty-eyed nostalgia, the characters are immediately recognizable and relatable, and the humor rings true.  In fact, "Over the Tavern" is so well written that the story holds up no matter the quality of the storytelling which, in the case of this ACT production, is fair to middling.  

 

Director Barbara Rhoades has a proven ear for comedy and eye for effective staging, and both are evident in this production.  However, she has not yet made a family out of her performers.   As of opening weekend, everyone on stage seems to be in their own little play where lines are spoken but not meant or responded to in earnest.  No affection has been forged between family members, so the tension written into the drama and the relief provided by the comedy often come across as counterfeit.

 

This is most evident in the very tender moments that the playwright so generously offers to each of his characters.  Sister Clarissa (Chris White) confessing to Chet, Chet dancing with Ellen, Ellen's heart-to-heart with Annie, Annie's virtue being defended by Eddie, and Rudy making a deal with God are all missed opportunities to move the audience to tears.

 

Still, this play works and works well.  It would just work better if we could see this family love each other as much as we would very much like to love them.

 

"Over the Tavern" continues through November 17 at Aurora Community Theater, 115 East Pioneer Trail, Aurora.  For tickets, which range from $11 to $17, go to www.auroracommunitytheatre.com or call 330-562-1818.   
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