Thursday, August 26, 2010

Theatre--Review (AUI)

Within the last two years, I have been privileged to attend forty-two plays, both in London and New York City. I have seen six Tony-award winning performances and felt the thrill of a production executed without a single hitch. The standing ovations I gave to plays like August: Osage County, Hair, Gods of Carnage, Spamalot, Ragtime, and A Little Night Music were instantaneous and well-earned.

I can now add a local theatrical production to that list of instantaneous ovations. I attended two performances of Acting Unlimited, Inc.’s production of Bat Boy: the Musical by Keythe Farley and Brian Fleming with composer and lyricist Laurence O’Keefe. Based on a preposterous headline from the Weekly World News, these gentlemen have managed to create a genuinely moving play with pathos from an outrageous, bizarre tale. Almost every element of their tale defies logic and reason, but the decisions and actions taken are all rooted in human desires and feelings.

It is difficult to reveal the plot without spoiling all of the rich surprises, but the show begins with the three Taylor children (Nick Dooley, Krista Rene Corbello, and Kelly Griffin)—from the wrong side of the tracks—discovering the Bat Boy in a cave. After the Bat Boy attacks Ruthie Taylor, the other two Taylors subdue the Bat Boy and bring him to Hope Falls, a town on the verge of financial heartache. There’s been a plague recently killing off the cows in that West Virginian town, and though the Bat Boy has nothing to do with that predicament, the small-minded citizens of Hope Falls are willing to blame anything. The kind Sheriff Reynolds (Scott Meddows) brings the Bat Boy to the local veterinarian, Dr. Thomas Parker (Cody Daigle), his wife Meredith (Ruth Diaz), and their teenage daughter Shelley Parker (Martha Diaz). As the town’s hysteria slowly grows to feverish proportions, the Parkers educate the Bat Boy, now named Edgar, to the point where the townspeople should accept him, but such is not the case. Various tragedies befall the Taylor family, and with each death—yes, there are quite a few—the townsfolk turn on the Bat Boy and chase him to the Slaughterhouse. It takes a surprise denouement from the Parkers to reveal who the Bat Boy truly is, and by the finale, no one in the town, or the audience, is left unmoved by the tragic turn of events.

Having read a synopsis of the play, I knew almost every plot twist and turn, but that allowed me to stay alert for some incredibly subtle and crafted acting. Thankfully, this production avoided almost all campy elements that other directors from other productions have chosen, turning Bat Boy into a silly, preposterous, tongue-in-cheek romp. (A cow’s severed head and coal-stained handkerchiefs are the rare exception.) The cast and crew played the entire performance with a dedication usually given only to Greek tragedies, and in many ways, this was. All three Taylor children die, but not in the way one would expect, and the death of the last child Ron is particularly heart-wrenching. The Parkers have secrets that are foreshadowed throughout the entire production, and their fate is ultimately tied to their actions from years past.

Why attend two performances? Director Walter Brown cast two young actors, Phillip Smith and Erik Schneider, in the lead role of Edgar, the Bat Boy, and I had been informed that each young man brought something different to the role. I was skeptical but agreed to see two different performances, and I’m glad I did. (Full disclosure: I have directed Phillip Smith myself in a previous play and did not know Erik Schneider at all. Though Erik is a graduate of Lafayette High School, where I teach, I have never taught him in any subject.) Phillip supplied Edgar with a wide-eyed optimism and hopefulness that society might accept him, while Erik brought a tougher cynicism and poignant sorrow that society would not. They both sing achingly and played nicely off both Ruth and Martha Diaz, sisters in real life. (Martha finally has the opportunity to display both her range and her belting voice, something that’s been sorely underutilized in most of her previous shows. She manages to be a credible love interest to two different actors, not an easy thing to do.) The Bat Boy suffers a cruel fate, however, and the audience sympathizes with his awful predicament, a testament to the acting of these talented young men.

To single out any performer in this ensemble production would not do credit to the work and effort all the cast put into it, and yet here I go. Erin Segura as Mayor Maggie, Kristina Marshall as Pan, and Nathaneal Trahan as the stiletto-heeled Lorraine all added a quirky element to the play. I can honestly say that no weak links existed, and several actors assumed multiple roles, executing them brilliantly. An exceptional stroke of casting came with Cindy Hebert as both the spiritual leader Reverend Billy Hightower and the understandably-angry Mrs. Taylor, mother of three kids who die in the course of the play. As the reverend, she sang a buoyant “A Joyful Noise,” a tent revival song in Act II, but as Mrs. Taylor, she crooned her “Lullaby” in Act I, showing off her incredible range. (It also involved one very quick costume change in Act II.) Still, I must mention Cody Daigle and Ruth Diaz in performances nothing short of perfection. When confronted with his wife’s betrayal, Cody managed to choke out the single word “Yes,” with enough meaning to fill many textbooks. When Cody asked his wife pleadingly, “Say that you love me,” she paused before answering sorrowfully, “I will,” instead of “I love you.” Their final reprise of “Dance With Me, Darling,” which explained so much of the play’s tragic elements, had exquisite harmonies that only underscored the beauty of an unbelievable situation. It helps that both Cody and Ruth have long been friends and have acted as a married couple in a previous production, Cody’s exquisite Grand Pre.

This being a Walter Brown production, I expected nothing short of excellence in the technical domain, and I was not disappointed. Scott Bailey’s set was a triumph of making a concise space morph into numerous different scenes seamlessly. Too many local community theatres kill the pacing of their play with interminably long scene changes, but not Bat Boy. Leah Twilley and Joseph Diaz did a brilliant job of choreography that utilized the entire cast, and I’ve never quite seen such an effective use of so many flashlights in my life. Some subtle light changes had been perfected by the second performance I saw. Jason Pennington and Andrew Elias provided the challenging musical score, which, while haunting, did tend to overpower certain cast members in their solo moments. The singing was first rate, though composer Laurence O’Keefe does like really high notes and prefers ending songs in purposefully-unusual chords.
I repeat, these are minor quibbles about a show that brought the audience instantly to their feet both nights I saw it. When Broadway and the West End are producing safe, feel-good shows, it’s refreshing to see something out of the ordinary, a show willing to take risks. It is my understanding that this show has been a dream of Ruth Diaz’s for some time; I’m glad to see someone’s wish came true.
---Vincent P. Barras

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