Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 23, 1991 TAG: 9102230062
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT RIVENBARK/ SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The production, which opened Thursday night, was not without problems.
The play expanded a short story that takes eight minutes to read into an hour of ritualistic theater employing elements from Kabuki, traditional Thai and Indian dance, and martial arts.
Performances of "The Crane Wife" will continue tonight at 8 and Sunday at 2 p.m. The run resumes Thursday and Friday, with the last performance next Saturday, all starting at 8 p.m. A signer, sitting on a raised platform, translated the narrative for deaf audience members.
Three narrators wearing kimonos related the story of Kokuro, a peasant rewarded for saving the life of a magical crane. The crane transforms itself into a beautiful woman, who marries Kokuro and weaves beautiful tapestries to relieve his poverty.
Then Kokuro becomes Everyman when he greedily exploits his wife's gift.
Villagers holding ritual masks formed a chorus. Four dancers in white mimed the movements of a crane flock, while the principal players delivered lines that were often moving in their incantatory power.
A Torii, or Shinto temple gate, held a curtain behind which actors shadow-danced the weaving of the magical tapestries. Flute music trilled in the background.
Carlisle deliberately exposed all the theatrical conventions of the play. The technical crew, placed at the side of the stage, was in plain view of the audience. The narrators walked on stage in street clothes and villagers dressed them in robes before the play started.
The problem with all this is that the formality and ritualism of the play sometimes worked against it.
The initial robing, for example, took far too long to hold the audience's attention. The piecing together of narrative from different kinds of story telling sometimes succeeded; other times the illusion was lost in awkward transitions between one form of storytelling and another.
The production's greatest asset was Sarah Ripard as the Crane Wife. She had a feel for the elegance of Japanese ritual. Her expressions, gestures, and understated line delivery were moving and evocative.
David Johnson also was effective as a bellicose Samurai lord who comes to buy a tapestry from Kokuro, played by Paul Gobble.
Gobble and the rest of the cast were never convincing as Japanese. Their very American energy showed through, even in the most ritualized movements, giving their performances an unintended awkwardness.
The story of the Crane Wife is extremely moving. Carlisle's attempt to bring it to a contemporary audience was laudable, but flawed.
Call 231-5615 for information and reservations.
by CNB