Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Theater Review: Shadowlands

By Alex Hargis of John Garcia's The Column

Why do bad things happen to good people under God's watch? Is the man who loses his wife to a slow-eating cancer justified in rebuking God for the suffering caused to him and his family? Why does life have to carry so much pain if we are so loved by our Creator? These dicey questions along with many others are posed and answered in the intellectually-stimulating but wordy production of Theatre Coppell's Shadowlands. Although working with a script that was too long and often tripping over itself, the cast of this production smartly used its resources and talent to deliver a solid show that entertained and encouraged reflection on life's greatest quandaries.

Shadowlands follows the short relationship between the brilliant English writer, C.S. Lewis and his wife, American poet, Joy Gresham. In their three-year relationship together, C.S. Lewis is pried from the comforts of his introverted world & introduced into a life that is not neatly summarized into lecture format or peacefully constant. His days of waking to coffee with his brother, Warnie, editing graduate papers, & sharing a good glass of brandy over exhilarating conversation with colleagues would abruptly end with the introduction of Joy into his life. She threw his world into a tizzy, first with her abrasive charm, her love secondly, and finally her tragic end. But he loved her and every part of the journey, because he learned that "the pain was all part of the deal."

Quite honestly, I thought that was going to be my mantra for this production going into it. Community Theater shows typically leave me slumped in my seat protruding my fingers deep into my eye-sockets and swearing I'll never attend another one. Thanks to Theatre Coppell however, my eyes were spared of my machinist tendencies and my hopes for Community Theater were greatly raised.

Everything about this show resonated on a very satisfactory level, and some particular elements such as the set, the lighting, and the strong ensemble cast rose to superb heights. When you first walked into the space, you would never have guessed that it used to be an old firehouse. Instead, you were met with the prettiest and warmest little English house you ever did see on this side of North Texas. Set Designer, Steven Smith, performed wonders in the close quarters of the small playhouse.

The set was robust and efficient, smartly laid out to accommodate multiple scene settings, flow of movement, and generous angles for working in the thrust format. The painting and set dressing in this production was executed with great craft and well balanced between realism and fantasy to fit the play. The same could be said of the gorgeous lighting that brought the set to life. The area lighting was flawless. One must never under appreciate a good, even wash, and Paul Arnold's was so warm and soothing. Mr. Arnold also did an incredible job using very few fixtures and gobos to create numerous looks and scene locations, giving us reprieve from the fixed English study from time to time.

The other shining star to mention within the production was its ensemble. Although the weight of the lines were exchanged between the two leading characters, Kathy Whitthorne as Joy Gresham and Dr. Mike Arthur as C.S. Lewis, the play would have drowned in a sea of witty words if it were not for the strong supporting members. There was not one weak member of the company, and it was so refreshing to see that a Community Theater had the resources to cast age appropriate actors. For example, C.S. Lewis' group of academic colleagues was a perfect blend of ages and talent, ranging from actors in their early forties to late sixties. I enjoyed not seeing a group of twenty to thirty-something year-olds sporting ghastly clumps of white stick in their hair. On the other side of life's timeline, I don't believe anyone could have not fallen in love with six-year old Patrick Osigian. This kid was cute; I'm not kidding. When you see him and hear him speak, your mouth instantly begins to form an involuntary "Ahhh…" before you even realize it. Not only was he adorable, but Mr. Osigian was also very well behaved on stage and acted extremely well.

My only criticism about the production was that it often felt like it was simply looping the same pleasant tune over and over. Frequently I found the main characters to be too agreeable and complacent to one another. Yes, I understand that was a dynamic to their relationship, preserving friendship was paramount, but that's boring if other objectives are not vetted out. I wanted to see actors on the hunt for something a little meatier than cordiality. In the numerous cat-and-mouse scenes between Joy and Lewis, with both of them using all that great, witty, language, the audience needed to see more levels played out.

For example, when Joy found out her husband left her for a woman she knew nothing about, Mrs. Whitthorne came across as nonchalant to the whole affair. It was like the whole matter had a 'ho-hum' weight to it. If the character's reserved nature leads her to be stoic, that's fine, but find the action that will be true to this emotion and keep the scene engaging. The same could be said of Dr. Arthur's performance as C.S. Lewis. The sensitivity and lightness he brought to the role was delightful, but the character fell flat in the first act.

During Lewis and Joy's "courtship," using Lewis' awkwardness for relationships is just one tactic in a vast arsenal to play. In every scene until Lewis decides to fall in love, that's the only tactic the audience ever saw—the character made a gesture oblivious to what was being communicated, realized the blunder, and became embarrassed. Unfortunately for these two actors, the script played the cat-and-mouse games for too long in my opinion. This created the necessity for new levels just to keep the action interesting, which made the acting challenge that much harder.

This is a good show. Don't let my little qualms stop you from seeing it. The space is dynamite. The set and lighting is gorgeous, and each cast member is guaranteed to give it their all for you. Despite the hang-ups with the script, the playwright, William Nicholson, does a fitting job making you think what it means to love and to be loved by your friends, spouses, and your God. It doesn't matter if you're religious or not. The ingenious thoughts and arguments laid out by C.S. Lewis will provoke the questions within you, not attempt to answer them for you. This is the job of theatre too, to provide the catalyst for critical thinking and introspection. For this critic, the question raised by Theatre Coppell's production of Shadowlands was, "Is there any hope for Community Theatre?" And answer is yes, absolutely. In a little gem of a theater in Coppell, TX, there sure is.

Pegasus News content partner - John Garcia's The Column

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