The Amateurs
Vineyard Theatre
February 17, 2018
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| Photo courtesy of Vineyard Theatre |
In
his new play, The Amateurs, Jordan
Harrison examines a number of compelling themes and concepts about the human
experience throughout the ages. There
are many layers and points of entry in this new work. The superb Vineyard Theatre production allows
the audience to engage and journey through them all, and emerge with a broader
view, a release, a purifications… or as they say in the play, a catharsis.
The
play opens in the 1300s in the middle of a morality play. A group of traveling players are portraying
the seven deadly sins, when one falls ill with the black plaque. He quickly dies and is left behind to be
buried in a communal grave. His sister, Hollis
(played by Quincy Tyler Bernstine), is more affected by this than the rest of
the traveling troupe. Larking (played by
Thomas Jay Ryan) continues to push his cast in getting ready to present their
new play about Noah’s flood for the Duke.
When the players are visited by the ghost of their deceased colleague,
the action of the play ceases and the playwright (played by Michael Cyril
Creighton) enters to offer context to the dilemma and review a number of
options for how to continue. The ideas
and questions he brings up are fully realized when the journey of the traveling
players resumes.
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| Photo courtesy of Vineyard Theatre |
Michael
Cyril Creighton fills the twenty or so minute section as the playwright with
depth, poignancy, impeccable timing, and serious humor. He shares the character’s personal
experiences of being bullied in middle school, learning to be afraid of AIDS in
high school, and addresses the fact that Noah’s wife refuses to board the arc
in the morality play. He is joined in
this middle section of the play by Quincy Tyler Bernstine, who steps out of her
role as Hollis and shares with the audience an enlightened experience she once
had while playing Mrs. Cratchit in a regional theatre production of A Christmas Carol. She equally matches Mr. Creighton’s poignancy
and humor. This section frames the
entire experience of the play and focuses the audience to view and understand
the themes and messages. These two
actors masterfully bring to the fruition what this magnificent writing
deserves.
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| The full cast of "The Amateurs" Photo courtesy of Vineyard Theatre |
The
entire cast is amazing. Kyle Beltran (as
Brom), Greg Keller (as the Physic), Jennifer Kim (as Rona), and Thomas Jay Ryan
(as Larking) bring richness and dry humor to this unprecedented play. Director Oliver Butler finds the perfect pace
that allows the impact of the themes to pop.
Scenic design by David Zinn and lighting design by Jen Schriever create
a weighty atmosphere of encumbrance, mystery, and wonder.
Playwright
Jordan Harrison examines the development of the individual identity as the root of the survival of
humankind. He clearly puts it out there
that there are no safe places to hide from catastrophic events, such as the
black plague, the great flood, the AIDS crisis, or anything else we might
presently be facing. He then sums it up in
the succinct statement that “life is long.”
The Amateurs runs at the
Vineyard Theatre through March 18. It is
definitely a MUST SEE!
Domenick Danza
