Theater Review—

Westport Needs More Than ‘Temporary Help’

By June S. April

WESTPORT — From the moment the play opened, the audience was riveted. This summer’s final production at Westport Country Playhouse, Temporary Help offered a powerful and outstanding theater experience. It’s rather ironic that this, the second season under the theater’s new and dynamic leadership, left the strongest presentation for the end. It’s the same scenario as last summer wherein the final production, a delicious musical ripe for Broadway entitled Nicolette and Aucassin, closed on an otherwise variable group of plays. It’s a conundrum.

All the elements one would hope for in exhilarating theatre were to be found in Temporary Help. It was also one of those all too rare instances when the first and second acts were equally strong and the tension built throughout. Written by writer and playwright David Wiltse, Temporary Help, as with Wiltse’s Triangles for Two (one of the best plays produced at the playhouse last summer), is a play that is clearly the work of a talented and creative person who will undoubtedly become one of the brighter lights in the theatre circuit.

Jeffrey DeMunn, Karen Allen, Sam Freed, and Chad Allen were beautifully and effectively directed by Gordon Edelstein, another notable talent whose directorial skills are recognized throughout the United States and England. The lighting, designed by Kenneth Posner, was also most effective in building the suspense of this fine play.

The season began with what was billed as a magical story. Princess Turnadot was written and directed by Darko Tresnjak. It was an interesting blend of styles, the Comedia del’Arte of slapstick/Europeon heritage stirred with elements of Indonesian shadow puppets and visually luscious Chinese fabric effects. It bordered on garish at times and the main character, Princess Turnadot, was hardly credible as a “desirable prize.”

The sets and costumes (David P. Gordon and Linda Cho, respectively) were a visual feast, but the play itself was sometimes frightening for young audience members. This reviewer wondered if it were selected because it was of the fairy tale theatre genre that had left audiences feeling so delighted after seeing and hearing Nicolette and Aucassin at the end of last season.

Audiences eagerly anticipated the second offering, a collection of short pieces by some of the greatest playwrights ever — Shaw, Chekhov and Feydeau. Directed by the talented Gene Saks and starring a stellar cast that included Carol Kane, Gene Wilder, Bob Dishy, Vivienne Benesch, Bill Buell, and David Constable, the three short plays were entertaining, but not outstanding. Don’t Make Me Laugh lived up to its title. Of the three, Georges Feyedeau’s Caught with his Trance Down was the strongest and funniest.

The directorial talents of Joanne Woodward are to be respected. For the season’s third offering, Ms Woodward orchestrated Richard Greenberg’s drama Three Days of Rain. It was an interesting production, but too long. The relationships between the three characters were intriguing, but one did not leave afterwards with a burning desire to see it again, or even thinking of encouraging others to view it. The set, however, especially the scrim designed by Troy Hourie, was superb.

Entertaining and well acted, Heaven Can Wait, starring Leslie Uggams as the angel Jordan, was a pleasant and sentimental story. It is one of those plays that translate better onto the silver screen, is nevertheless enjoyable when presented on stage. The characterizations of the members of the boxing world brought to mind the flavor Damon Runyan characters, as in the musical Guys and Dolls.

Throughout this 2001 season, the Westport Country Playhouse brought to its audience theatre that has merit, yet it was not that meritorious — save for Temporary Help. With the level of talent and experience that is part of the adminstrative team, and the skill of the staff and actors involved, not to mention the theater’s reputation, one would hope for consistently outstanding choices, performances and presentations. Certainly the potential is there. One can only look forward to further growth, enlightenment, and realized possibilites for summer 2002.