Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 16, 1993 TAG: 9309160181
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By KAREN L. DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Victor Kuehn plays Gardner Church, a famous Pulitzer Prize-winning poet whose days of artistic inspiration are gone forever, eaten away by senility. No longer able to earn a viable income, Gardner spends his days typing nonsensical words and reciting poetry to his pet parrot.
Nora Hansen portrays Gardner's wife, Fanny Church, as a strong, domineering mother who, in moving to the less expensive cottage, sadly acknowledges the end of an era for her and her husband. Still, Fanny intends to leave her old way of life in style.
Mags Church, played by Dee Davidson, is the flighty and somewhat forlorn daughter who arrives to help the couple move. A portrait painter on the verge of artistic celebrity, Mags also has come home to capture her parents' image on canvas. She hopes that by doing so, she can persuade them to recognize and appreciate her talent, so long overlooked and overshadowed by her father's success.
The play, written by Tina Howe, is a character study of three adult family members who, despite wealth and status, harbor anxieties and insecurities like any other family. Each character appears painfully isolated in his or her attempts to cope with the move and its inherent lifestyle changes.
The characters carry on discordant conversations as they pack and reminisce, each talking in turn but often changing the subject without the others even noticing. In this way, Howe demonstrates that communication is more than just talking; it's also listening.
The entire two-act drama takes place on a simple living room set framed by square- and triangular-shaped latticework representing walls and windows. Cleverly designed by Eric Wiedegreen, the set lattice contains several colored, pop-out panels, a few of which are removed after each scene, symbolizing the gradual disassembling of the household.
Director Brian Compton plays up the idea of images on film, images on canvas and images in words as recordings of life in progress, to be looked on later as reminders of the way we were or the way we might have been.
The play's message is subtle but powerful.
The performances are generally competent and well-rehearsed but, in places, beg for more visible emotion and emphatic body gesture.
Hansen is particularly good at using her strong voice to convey Fanny's dominance over her husband and household, sometimes switching to softer tones to hint at her secret vulnerabilities.
For $5, the play is an inexpensive and pleasant way to spend an evening or afternoon, plus support community theater.
"Painting Churches" is Playmakers & Company's 57th production. The community theater group has performed in the New River Valley for 14 years.
Performances continue Thursday through Sunday in the Playmakers' Playhouse, a cozy, intimate, black box theater inside University Mall, Blacksburg. Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission for students and senior citizens is $3.
Playmakers next production, "Mousetrap," runs Nov. 4-5, 11-14, 18-21. For season ticket information, call 382-0154.
"Painting Churches" Performances of "Painting Churches" continue Thursday through Sunday in the Playmakers' Playhouse inside University Mall, Blacksburg.
Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $5. Admission for students and senior citizens is $3.
by CNB