<p class="MsoNormal"><font><b><span style="font-family:Palatino">-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
</span></b></font></p><p class="MsoNormal"><font><b><span style="font-family:Palatino">Eric Coble’s script + Dorothy Silver’s
performance = captivating theatre at Beck</span></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Palatino">Roy Berko</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="1"><span style="font-family:Palatino">(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland<span> </span>Theatre Critics)</span></font></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">According to
the US Census Bureau, the elderly are the fastest growing population in the
United States.<span> </span>At present those 65
and older number 35 million and their presence is increasing by 12 percent a
year.<span> </span>Many of these people find
themselves in precarious situations.<span>
</span>One of the major issues is where should they live?<span> </span>Historically, as a person aged, they
were absorbed into the on-going family unit.<span> </span>But, those times have changed.<span> </span>More and more elderly are warehoused in nursing and
retirement homes, often against their will.<span> </span>They are disrespected as their senses start to diminish,
family members want to cash in on expected inheritances, and caring for the old
is too much of a burden.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">What happens to
78-year old Alexandra is the topic of Eric Coble’s poignant play, THE VELOCITY
OF AUTUMN, now in production at Beck Center.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">Alexandra, a
former painter and arts lover, sits in the living room of her Brooklyn
townhouse surrounded by bottles of flammable film developer which have been
rigged to be pyres of fire.<span> </span>The
doors have been barricaded and all but a second story window have been
locked.<span> </span>That window, her opening
to the world, has been left ajar so she can see a beloved tree, which she has
fought most of her adult life to insure is not cut down, and provides a place
for birds to sit and chirp.<span> </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino"> Alexandra does
have slips of memory, her knees and back hurt, she can no longer hold a paint
brush, but she is a vital woman who reads, talks on the phone to her friends,
and is sharp enough to know that she doesn’t want to leave her home and go to
an extended care facility to die.<span>
</span>She thoroughly believes, ‘There are good and bad ways to die.”<span> </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">Alexandra
hasn’t lost either her sense of the ironic, or sense of humor.<span> </span>She quips, “You know you are getting
old when you start making sounds for your body,” and refers to her children,
who want to “put her away” as “over reacting because they have a screw
loose.”<span> </span>She doesn’t
mind being alone.<span> </span>In fact, she
states, “I’m good at it.”<span>
</span>She contends that “there can still be beauty as a person comes apart.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">In through the
partially open window climbs Chris, the youngest of her three children, and
unequivocally her favorite.<span> </span>He’s a
person much like her.<span> </span>He<span> </span>presently lives in New Mexico, has
difficulty with attachments, and constantly runs in search of the unknown.<span> </span>He is also gay, which caused some
family issues.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">At first the
duo spars, but soon their emotional bridge allows for a connection.<span> </span>As she relates stories of the past, and
shares their racing around the curved staircase at the Guggenheim Museum, he
tells the tale of Native Americans creating beautiful sand sculptures in the
desert, which are then swept away.<span>
</span>Swept away, like much of the beauty of life as it nears the end. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">Coble, who
spent part of his youth on American Indian reservations uses that background to
develop this poignant story.<span> </span>The
concept of the inclusion rather than exclusion of the elderly in the Native
American culture, the respect for the aged, the love of nature, the importance
of real family ties, the need for the old to teach the young and share their
wisdom, are all part of the tale of THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">The Beck
production, under the meticulous direction of Eric Schmiedl, is emotionally
wrenching, yet humorous.<span> </span>Well
paced, the 90-minute of intermissionless time, speeds by.<span> </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">In the hands of
lesser actors the script might not have come to life in the way it did.<span> </span>Coble seems to have written the play
for Dorothy Silver, Cleveland’s Uta Hagen/Helen Hayes/Jessica Tandy.<span> </span>Silver is Alexandra, Alexandra is
Silver.<span> </span>This is not acting, it’s
being.<span> </span>There is a
possibility that the script is headed for a New York production, and no one is
more deserving of playing the role than Dorothy Silver!<span> </span>The world needs to know what a gem
resides in our area!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">David Hansen, as
Chris, is excellent.<span> </span>Hansen shows
a natural flow.<span> </span>He neither over
nor under dramatizes the role.<span> </span>He
and Silver play well together.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino">Scenic Designer
Todd Krispinsky’s fragmented Brooklyn row-house fits the mood and concept of
the play.<span> </span>As with Alexandra, its
slightly off-set, showing some age, but still very serviceable.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span><i><span style="font-family:Palatino">CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:<span> </span>Seeing THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN is one of
those special evenings in the theatre.<span>
</span>Dorothy Silver is enthralling, David Hansen is right on target, and Eric
Coble’s poignant yet humorous script allows for a much needed look at the plight
of the aging in this sometimes heartless culture.<span> </span>This production is an absolutely must, must, must see!</span></i><i><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"></span><font><span style="text-transform:uppercase;font-family:Palatino">The Velocity of Autumn</span><span style="font-family:Palatino"> is scheduled to run through April 29 at Beck Center for the
Arts.<span> </span>For tickets call
<a href="tel:216-521-2540" value="+12165212540" target="_blank">216-521-2540</a> or go on-line to <a href="http://www.beckcenter.org" target="_blank">www.beckcenter.org</a></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font><span style="font-family:Palatino">Becks’ next
show is the musical BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON starring Dan Folino.<span> </span>It’s directed by Scott Spence with
choreography by Martin Céspedes.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:Palatino"><font size="1">For a composite of reviews by members
of the Cleveland Critics Circle about this production go to:<span> </span><a href="http://www.ClevelandTheaterReviews.com" target="_blank">www.ClevelandTheaterReviews.com</a></font><span><font size="1"> <br></font></span></span></i></p>
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