Well intentioned, Lifeless, Flat, Cramped, Slow
See it if You're a fan of Shirley Lauro's work & care to hear what sounds like an uncut reading of her script in an evening that's more tell than show
Don't see it if You don't know the story; much is belabored & much won't be clear. Also, if you're familiar with any other versions, this will fall short.
Also Director Gordon has managed to make the worst of an awkward and difficult space, for the most part trapping the cast onto a cramped, noisy three-step platform along the house-left wall. Huddled together at times in often severe lighting, the young actors often seem left to their own devices.
As directed, they stomp around the set, repeatedly acting out unnecessary physical details (carrying benches as gurneys, pantomiming bandages, etc.) and endlessly sorting out obvious, needless small costume changes, they never cohere into an ensemble of any sort, or even seem to come to terms with the audience—is there a fourth wall or not?
Also, for a company whose notes claim a heavy focus on sound, there's a distinct lack of music, the unifying language of the 60's and the main reason for the Maryjo character.
Unusual for two productions of a play to run in a season, this version pales next to the earlier thought-through Little Spoon Big Spoon one; it's an educational, unfortunate contrast.
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