THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411190075
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater review
SOURCE: BY MONTAGUE GAMMON III, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
IF MARK DUNN had written ``Belles'' with as much talent as the six actresses in the Virginia Repertory Theatre Company bring to its production, he would have earned fame and fortune with it.
Dunn's economic situation is unknown, but then so is he. His name is not conspicuous among influential or widely admired contemporary playwrights.
``Belles'' relates, in a mixture of comic and sad terms, the situations of six daughters from what can only be called a dysfunctional family - the father was a violently abusive drunk, and the mother could be most kindly described as a kook.
The play is structured as a series of 39 phone calls among the women. Though the widowed mother is living with one of her daughters, she is never heard from. She won't use the telephone because she fears, even in clear weather, that lightning might travel down the wires and strike her.
When the women phone one another, the audience hears both sides of the conversation. Only one side of the calls involving anyone else is heard.
Joan Gay plays Peggy, who moved home after the death of her husband to take care of mother. Gay's acting has a solid, unadorned quality that fits the character who another sister calls the ``salt of the earth.''
The author obviously favors Aneece Walker, Sherman Edmondson's character. Aneece is a single, successful businesswoman. She is also an alcoholic who has spent years in therapy. Dunn uses her to tell most of the family's story.
Edmondson incorporates the intelligence, loneliness, resentment and self-knowledge of this woman into a multifaceted, especially human performance. The role leans toward the melodramatic; Edmondson gets mileage out of that without going over the edge.
Lorrie Mauney plays a preacher's wife, the suburban mother of two whose husband is emotionally and physically distant. Without resorting to hysteria, Mauney conveys that this woman is overwhelmed by day-to-day living.
Denise Wade's character has taken refuge in amateur ventriloquism. She substitutes her dummy for the child she and her husband haven't had. A straightforward approach to outlandish situations, as when she reports the disappearance of her ``little boy'' to the police, gives Wade some of the funniest moments of the play.
Sister Sherry Walker moved from her natal Memphis to Washington state, and to a never-never land of vaporous New Age consciousness and lingo. Lynette S. Lyall is sharp and especially graceful in her portrayal.
The youngest of the family is a promiscuous college student, Paige. Karen Levy gets across the girl's immaturity without sounding silly or stupid.
All these performances share a feeling of being complete. The actresses and director Tom Harris can share credit for this careful craftsmanship.
The story they tell is amply sad though not original - the characters are familiar types. The script offers nothing new. Whether these talented performers redeem their material, or are wasted on it, is best decided by a coin toss. by CNB