Last week, before I came down with strep throat AND the flu AT THE SAME TIME, I had the joy of a lovely weekend of theatre going.
I managed to catch FPU’s Hay Fever by Noel Coward on its opening night and was delighted by a lovely production.
The first thing to catch my eye was the elegant living room box set by FPU Theatre Program Director, Julia Reimer. Subdued colors and nicely edited decoration made the set a suitable backdrop for the outlandish characters who will soon tramp across it. (Of course, I’m probably biased on this score since the loveseat, the wingback chair, the drop leaf tea-table, the bookcase with the vintage style radio, the antiqued wall decorations, photos and piano in the corner are an eerily similar match to the items in my own living room. What does that say about me? )
But back to the show.
Noel Coward’s deceptively simple drawing room comedies always sparkle with wit and a lighthanded sense of satire, all of which the cast handles quite well given their age and experience level. There are no ‘ringers’ in this cast– no accomplished community members from outside the regular department. No professors from the campus ranks. No. . . this theatre program is obviously intended for the students and that benefits them with a richness of experience they might not get otherwise.
Act I starts out with some great character capturing from Ava Nicole Pacino (Sorel Bliss) and Benjamin Carr (Simon Bliss) who set up the situation of their unusually ill-mannered family all inviting relatively normal acquaintances to the house on the same weekend. While during the first 15 minutes of the act their speech was extremely fast paced and hindered by their well-studied accents, it was a bit difficult to land each of their jokes. But once they calmed down– and with the addition of actress-mother Judith (Donna Carr) to the scene– they settled into the familiar buoyancy of Coward’s writing.
Pacino, in particular is a sparkling youngster in the play with a great deal of ingenue work ahead of her if she keeps at it. Donna Carr, as the show’s centerpiece figure, understands the style requirements of her character, but lacks the rich vocal registers of a grand diva– something that will come with age and is really no fault of her own. It’s just the pitfall of playing older than you really are. She handles Judith’s supercilliousness with tremendous grace, however.
The depth of natural talent of the supporting players, though, is what really shores up this production. Very often, in a drawing room comedy, these roles are glossed over. But here director Jennifer Sampson has cast it pitch perfectly. Tony Sargosa’s slightly dim athlete, Sandy, is sweet tempered but decisive; Stephanie Wasemiller has the pretty, but charmingly scrunched face of a Renee Zellwegger delivering her best comedic looks; Maya Oselsky as the exotic Myra is the most comfortable in her skin and carries herself with a seductive twist and a sly look in her perfectly boned face. The real find, however, was Jacob Bailey as the “diplomatist” Richard Greatham. Baily has the look of a mild-mannered professor and the perfect delivery for a man who knows exactly the right thing to say. Each of these characters are nicely individualized and carried well by these very young actors.
Sampson’s direction appears sound– she’s obviously nurtured some terrific student performances from this group. There were a few moments of staging where a character’s back was to the audience, downstage center, in a style of blocking that I love in a 3/4 round stage or on a rake. But Noel Coward is designed specifically for classic 20th century procenium blocking, and it was distracting when actors in the most prominent positions on stage were cutting off the audience from the action.
But that is really a minor quibble in an otherwise delightful show. Lovely set, BEAUTIFUL costumes (always a plus with me), and a terrific script. Nicely done. Here’s hoping Ms. Sampson can bring some of that energy and teaching ability to her other job at Bakersfield College!
Fresno Pacific University will present Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya April 16-18, 23-25. Contact Julia Reimer at jreimer@fresno.edu for more information.
