[NEohioPAL] Review of "Heroes" at Clague Playhouse

[Bob Abelman]

Clague Playhouse’s ‘Heroes’ attacks from the rear



Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal





French playwright Gérald Sibleyras’ “Le Vent Des Peupliers,” which has been translated into English by British playwright Tom Stoppard and retitled “Heroes,” is a modest work affectionately referred to as a “boulevard comedy.”  Like a boulevard, it is broad in terms of its humor, well-manicured in its demeanor, and trotted upon by everyday people going about their everyday business.   



It is 1959 when we encounter three aging World War I veterans on the terrace of their nursing home.  There, they address a range of small topics that loom large for old men with nothing but time on their hands and fleeting memories of glory days on their increasingly fragile minds.  



It is quite impossible to ignore that the maladies of old age and world-wide warfare serve as the source material for this comedy, which can be a tough row to hoe for an audience without the benefit of French sensibilities or a British sense of humor.   



Clague audiences are likely to find that the primary pleasure in this production lies not in the work but in watching three brilliant, seasoned professionals at work under Anne McEvoy’s gentle direction.  She massages rather than mauls the play’s funny bone and instead of the frontal assault the comedy has the potential to be, she allows “Heroes” to subtly approach the audience from the rear.



For more of this review, go to: www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/
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