Edwin: The Story of Edwin Booth

Edwin: The Story of Edwin Booth

Great Circle Productions

Theatre at Saint Clement’s

September 10, 2016

Photo courtesy of Great Circle Productions

Great Circle Productions presents Edwin: The Story of Edwin Booth for a limited Off-Broadway run at the Theatre at Saint Clement’s.  It is a musical with a very dark score by Marianna Rosett.  The book and lyrics by Eric Swanson weave a grim tale of the fall of a family due to egotism, alcohol, and a historic act of significant magnitude.    

The play takes place on January 3, 1866 in New York City.  Edwin Booth is returning to the Winter Garden Theatre in the role of Hamlet after a long absence from the stage following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by his brother, John Wilkes Booth.  He is haunted by the ghosts of his father, brother, and wife as he prepares for his performance.  The action moves back in time as the facts of this family’s notoriety are exposed.  The characters play out scenes from Shakespeare, which clearly illustrate the heightened tragedy embedded in their family relationships.

Dana Watkins & Paul DeBoy
Photo courtesy of Great Circle Production

Dana Watkins is strong as Edwin.  His smooth transitions in time and location are clear and keep the action of the play connected.  He easily moves from Shakespeare scenes into Edwin’s present emotional state, then into song, creating emotional truths in each moment.  The scenes between Edwin and his father, Junius Booth (played by Paul DeBoy), are wonderfully written and directed.  Mr. DeBoy plays an overbearing egotist who teaches his son the skills he needs to become one of the greatest actors of his time.  Their relationship grows and builds with clear flaws and cracks that bring their downfall just a few years later.  Todd Lawson portrays John Wilkes Booth with a seething unrest that incites attention and builds conflict.  His stage presence is powerful and riveting.  Ben Mayne is charming as Rob, who is hired as a bodyguard and dresser to Edwin for the Winter Garden performance.  Rob often quotes his father to cheer up Edwin.  The twist in the ending scene when the identity of Rob’s father is revealed, whether historically true or not, adds a layer of depth to the plot and beautifully ties up the theme.

Todd Lawson & Dana Watkins
Photo courtesy of Great Circle Productions

The telling of this story through the ghosts and hauntings of the past is a brilliant concept.  The play is strongly constructed. Director Christopher Scott skillfully brings this accomplished cast of seven to the point of creating realistic characters and honest relationships.  The production, however, feels weighted down and the conflicts do not resolve.  In this play, as in real life, Edwin’s challenges and accomplishments are overshadowed by his brother’s action.  Edwin runs at the Theatre at St. Clement’s on 46^th Street through September 18.

Domenick Danza

Abundance

Abundance

by Beth Henley

TACT (The Actors Company Theatre)

The Beckett Theatre / Theatre Row

February 28, 2015

Photo courtesy of TACT

I was very excited when I saw that TACT (The Actors Company Theatre) was doing Beth Henley’s Abundance.  I got a ticket on TDF right away.  I thought it was a new play, then found out that it was commissioned in 1989 by South Coast Repertory, just six years after her acclaimed Crimes of the Heart.  I commend TACT for their program notes with detailed information about Beth Henley and background on the development of this script.  Be sure to read through them when you go to the show.  They gave me a few points of reference and prepared me for the production, which was beyond anything I anticipated. 

The action of the play starts in 1860 and spans twenty-five years.  It is the story of two mail order brides who become friends while waiting for their prospective husbands to meet them.  Their stories are brutal and stark, as they face the wilderness, hunger, and abuse.  They cling to one another as they sacrifice and adapt to their situations.  Act II changes drastically when one of the women is kidnapped and enslaved by a Native American tribe.  The program notes state, “While much of the content in Abundance may seem far-fetched, all of it is based on fact.”  This is one of the reference points I referred to earlier.  Without previous knowledge to this time in history, I would have found this plot point to be contrived.  With this understanding, I was able to allow the second act to unfold.  

Tracey Middendorf, Ted Koch, Kelly McAndrew, and Todd Lawson
in the TACT production of Beth Henley's Abundance      Photo courtesy of TACT

The women turn on each other in Act II when they are reunited.  The level of betrayal between them is in the script, yet not portrayed with the depth that is needed to make it realistic and understandable.  Yes, the circumstances are extremely out of the ordinary, however, the connection of the two actors was not visceral enough to create a realistic and viable second act.  The four main actors, Tracy Middendorf, Kelly McAndrew, Todd Lawson, and Ted Koch, do an amazing job establishing their four distinct characters and creating relationships that are tense and connected in Act I.  The director, Jenn Thompson, seemed to miss the core of the conflict in Act II. 

The set, by Wilson Chin, opens the space up with expansive cloud constructions.  On the central playing area stands a strong, statuesque pole with a pulley that constantly reminds us of the level of rigorous work that is involved in the lives of these characters.  There is a lot of dialogue about the size of the sky and the closeness of the stars at night.  The openness of the design allows the space to be overtaken by this feeling.  Philip Rosenberg’s brilliant lighting illuminates the clouds with color and fills the night sky with those close, reachable stars.

Even though I had trouble with the second act, Abundance is valuable play about a portion of our history we do not regularly see or hear about.  Though I was not emotionally moved by its outcome, it certainly did intrigue me.  It is a well-produced piece with historic significance.  

Domenick Danza