THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9604300129
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 20 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: Montague Gammon III
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
A student-directed production of Christopher Durang's one-act comedy ``The Actor's Nightmare'' let some young performers exercise their comedic talents on a script that is both zany and literate. Plenty of ability and potential were in evidence in the Virginia Wesleyan studio theater.
The play begins as a young man clad in his pajamas finds himself on a stage, where actors and crew members address him as the star of some unnamed play that is about to begin.
He does not know what the show is. He has no memory of any lines, and even believes that he is an accountant rather than a actor.
The character is called George Spelvin, the generic pseudonym frequently used by American performers wishing to maintain anonymity.
First Spelvin stumbles through a scene from a piece that sounds like it is written by Noel Coward, then he is abruptly playing Hamlet. His fellow actors do their best to cover up his incomprehension. The stage manager even comes on stage in the guise as a maid to prompt him.
No sooner has Spelvin gotten his bearings in the Shakespeare production than his dream places him in the middle of a piece by Samuel Beckett. From the spare, absurdist Beckett, he is dragged into the final scenes of ``A Man for All Seasons,'' playing the martyred Thomas More.
Remembering that the play ends with More's execution, Spelvin tries mightily to change the course of history. For all he cares, King Henry VIII can divorce and remarry as many times as he wants to.
His fellow cast members push on to the familiar end, and an imposing executioner played by Issac Lowenthal leaves Spelvin lying at the foot of the chopping block as all the other performers take their curtain call.
Chris Brock maintained appropriate bewilderment in the part of Spelvin. Molly Long and Briana Muggli both carried off their roles, called Sarah Siddons and Ellen Terry, competently. Each served as a good foil for Brock's underplayed comedy.
Phillip Friedman, playing Henry Irving, had some really funny bits as an actor more exasperated than sympathetic with Spelvin's weird behavior.
Wesleyan veteran Amy Insley gave a solid performance as the unflappable stage manager Meg. Like the character she played, Insley was an anchor for her fellow actors.
Student director Judy Barron can be proud of this early venture into the craft and art of directing. Were she to stage this piece again, she might want to think about pulling somewhat more extravagant performances from her cast.
This is, after all, a play that depends upon the surreal illogic of the dream world, so a certain emotional hypertension would be both fitting and funny. There are extra laughs available if the cast not only plays up the dream itself but also the satires of various authors' styles in which Durang indulges himself.
This production was marked by a smooth approach that was a credit to both director and cast. Many productions by experienced actors take the stage on opening night with less confidence than did this student show. ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
What: ``The Actor's Nightmare,'' by Christopher Durang.
When: The production ran April 22-24.
Where: Virginia Wesleyan College.
Information: 455-5700.
by CNB