Pat Reynolds, left, Megan Therese Rippey, Alex Vaughan, Lolita-Marie and Tom Byrne make up the cast of "The Violet Hour" at Colonial Players. (Photo by Bud Johnson / Special to The Baltimore Sun / October 27, 2009) |
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In its second play of the season, Colonial Players delivers Richard Greenberg's "The Violet Hour," riveting, reflective theater that takes the audience into nostalgic and challenging territory.
It is to my knowledge the first work performed in the area of the acclaimed contemporary playwright. He has written 27 plays, receiving numerous awards, including the Tony and Drama Desk, and is revered for his intellect and unpredictability.
Set in 1919, "The Violet Hour" tells the story of a Princeton University-educated independent publisher launching his business and trying to decide which of two authors' books to publish - a friend's over-written work containing some brilliant writing, or that of his current love interest, a seductive African-American singer's honest autobiography. While the inexperienced publisher weighs his decision, a mysterious machine has been delivered that is spewing out pages from a different time period.
Making his CP directorial debut, Josh Bristol writes in his director's notes that "The show looks at the stories we tell, how we tell them and how they are changed and reevaluated in the forward march of time." Through Greenberg's talents, Bristol says, "We get deep, rich, intelligent people, not merely characters on a stage."
Bristol employs a symphony conductor's sensitivity in bringing elements to a climax at the surprise ending of Act 1. He has assembled an excellent five-member cast to bring the characters to life, and he sets a swift pace to highlight the compact lyrical dialogue without losing any of the intellectual depth.
Helping create authenticity is producer and set designer Bob Brewer, who created a Manhattan publisher's disheveled office with a skyline view from a rear window and vertically filed stacks of manuscripts. Costume designer Jeannie Beall created costumes evocative of the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. The technical wizardry of Frank Pittelli and Dick Whaley created a surreal electronic printing machine that blinks in multicolored rows of lights, taps, rumbles and roars as it prints and spews out paper.
The setting of "The Violet Hour" brings to mind editor Maxwell Perkins, who published the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe. The brilliant young unpublished writer might also be a combination of the romantic Fitzgerald and verbose Wolfe.
Pat Reynolds plays publisher John Seavering with a convincing mix of a novice businessman's hesitancy and a Princeton alum's confidence. An underlying appreciation of wit and language carries over into Reynolds' handling of reams of elegant dialogue. Reynolds' Seavering is always carefully restrained to prevent anyone's intrusion, especially in his relationship to love interest Jesse.
Lolita-Marie projects all the warmth, humanity and uncertainty of character Jesse Brewster, who seems to combine singer Josephine Baker with the brilliant and tragic Billie Holiday. She also manages to turn her costume into its own seductive statement.
Tom Byrne brings life and laughter to his every scene as Seavering's beleaguered, over-educated assistant Gidger. Byrne's lilting Irish accent enhances his every line of dialogue and makes the most of each gem of subtle humor.
Recent St. Mary's graduate Alex Vaughan plays novice writer Denny McCleary, bringing an interesting mix of ego and insecurity when dealing with his budding writing career and in his romance with meat-packing heiress Rosamund Plinth, whose father insists that she marry a man who has a promising financial future. Vaughan is convincing in demanding scenes with Rosamund, played by St. Mary's graduate Megan Therese Rippey. She gives a moving portrayal of the neurotic and charming heiress.
It is to my knowledge the first work performed in the area of the acclaimed contemporary playwright. He has written 27 plays, receiving numerous awards, including the Tony and Drama Desk, and is revered for his intellect and unpredictability.
Set in 1919, "The Violet Hour" tells the story of a Princeton University-educated independent publisher launching his business and trying to decide which of two authors' books to publish - a friend's over-written work containing some brilliant writing, or that of his current love interest, a seductive African-American singer's honest autobiography. While the inexperienced publisher weighs his decision, a mysterious machine has been delivered that is spewing out pages from a different time period.
Making his CP directorial debut, Josh Bristol writes in his director's notes that "The show looks at the stories we tell, how we tell them and how they are changed and reevaluated in the forward march of time." Through Greenberg's talents, Bristol says, "We get deep, rich, intelligent people, not merely characters on a stage."
Bristol employs a symphony conductor's sensitivity in bringing elements to a climax at the surprise ending of Act 1. He has assembled an excellent five-member cast to bring the characters to life, and he sets a swift pace to highlight the compact lyrical dialogue without losing any of the intellectual depth.
Helping create authenticity is producer and set designer Bob Brewer, who created a Manhattan publisher's disheveled office with a skyline view from a rear window and vertically filed stacks of manuscripts. Costume designer Jeannie Beall created costumes evocative of the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. The technical wizardry of Frank Pittelli and Dick Whaley created a surreal electronic printing machine that blinks in multicolored rows of lights, taps, rumbles and roars as it prints and spews out paper.
The setting of "The Violet Hour" brings to mind editor Maxwell Perkins, who published the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe. The brilliant young unpublished writer might also be a combination of the romantic Fitzgerald and verbose Wolfe.
Pat Reynolds plays publisher John Seavering with a convincing mix of a novice businessman's hesitancy and a Princeton alum's confidence. An underlying appreciation of wit and language carries over into Reynolds' handling of reams of elegant dialogue. Reynolds' Seavering is always carefully restrained to prevent anyone's intrusion, especially in his relationship to love interest Jesse.
Lolita-Marie projects all the warmth, humanity and uncertainty of character Jesse Brewster, who seems to combine singer Josephine Baker with the brilliant and tragic Billie Holiday. She also manages to turn her costume into its own seductive statement.
Tom Byrne brings life and laughter to his every scene as Seavering's beleaguered, over-educated assistant Gidger. Byrne's lilting Irish accent enhances his every line of dialogue and makes the most of each gem of subtle humor.
Recent St. Mary's graduate Alex Vaughan plays novice writer Denny McCleary, bringing an interesting mix of ego and insecurity when dealing with his budding writing career and in his romance with meat-packing heiress Rosamund Plinth, whose father insists that she marry a man who has a promising financial future. Vaughan is convincing in demanding scenes with Rosamund, played by St. Mary's graduate Megan Therese Rippey. She gives a moving portrayal of the neurotic and charming heiress.
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