THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 17, 1995 TAG: 9502170518
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MURFREESBORO LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Thumbs are going up, thumbs are going down.
Ratings for ``Growing Up/Growing Old in America,'' the Chowan College Players presentation, are a mixed bag.
Most of the performers give it the old college try.
The production, which closes tonight, offers six one-act plays, each having something to do with the title.
Two of the playlets are Pulitzer Prize winners - ``The Sandbox'' by Edward Albee, and ``Tender Offer'' by Wendy Wasserstein.
The latter, the least cynical of the six plays, is the hit of the night. A major reason is Anabela Adams, who portrays Lisa.
She captures her character beautifully, gets herself totally immersed in the role of a dance student in her early teens, portraying a perky Gidget-type without making her appear saccharine.
Anabela is so convincing you have to ask to make sure she really is a college student, not the middle school student she portrays.
Every word, every movement is just right in the playlet, which concerns Lisa's relationship with her dad, well played by Michael Fleck.
The problem with the five other pieces is that, good as some of them are, the performers cannot compare to Anabel.
So much for strength. The weakest link in the Chowan chain is ``Breakfast,'' which has to do with food, ingredients and confusion about both. A lot of talk, but no fun.
Talk is what it is all about on the Turner Auditorium stage. Kiddies will be bored with all the conversation. Another reason for leaving the youngsters home is that the subject matter is often of the ``R'' persuasion.
Here's a tip: Come on time to see playlet number one, ``Clair de Lune.'' The music is the theme as Hargus Taylor and Betty Batchelor, instructors at Chowan and veteran performers, quietly have a fascinating, convincing ``where-did-we-go-wrong-with-our-children?'' discussion.
Batchelor is also seen in ``The Sandbox,'' which has to do with the cold way we often treat our parents when they get older. In this case, Batchelor is tossed in a sandbox by her cowed son and his domineering wife, who ignore her, then forget her.
Humor, often black, and comedy come with most of the offerings. ``Ledge,'' for instance, has a young couple ready to jump from the 41st floor. They argue to see who should go first, an argument that becomes a verbal battle of the sexes. Sean McClafferty and Allison Justus make this one work.
Cleverest title kudos go to ``The Shallow End'' which has bathing suit-clad 13- and 14-year-old girls hanging around the shallow end of the pool, engaging in shallow conversation. See?
You get the idea that playwright Wendy MacLeod thought of the title first and worked around it.
The girls sit around and talk about how they hate people who talk about others as they talk about others. See?
To some, that may be deep - others may find it grossly meaningless.
The highlight of this particular offering is Shama Dunlow's fine portrayal of Addie, a girl who eventually seems to have a sense of decency.
``Growing Up/Growing Old in America'' does offer food for thought, but it is a matter of taste. ILLUSTRATION: THEATER PREVIEW
The Chowan College Players present ``Growing Up/Growing Old in
America'' at 8 p.m. tonight in the Turner Auditorium, Chowan
College, Murfreesboro.
by CNB