Reviews
Gravedigger's Tango Delves
Monday, July 15, 2007
By Leslie Katz, San Francisco Examiner
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - A fierce champion of the San Francisco theater scene, playwright, director and actor Ian Walker is keeping it invigorated with the premiere of “The Gravedigger’s Tango,” running at Traveling Jewish Theatre through the end of the month.
It’s easy to understand why Walker has won awards for his work. A cool literary mystery, “The Gravedigger’s Tango” cleverly tells the intersecting stories of a couple of cemetery workers and the people responsible for an undated grave with the epitaph: “Not one but two hearts lie below/ Beyond the reach of all we know/ Pray be silent and do not stir/ Till I find my way back to her.”
While unraveling the mystery of the grave marking is perhaps the most exciting element of the show, the admittedly spare Second Wind Productions presentation boasts food for thought on many levels; Walker, who also directs, explores fascinating philosophical themes and imbues his characters with passion and points of view.
Overseeing the graveyard is caretaker Laszlo (Doug Thornburg), a belligerent yet poetic fellow who, if nothing else, respects the sanctity of the site, which likely will be destroyed by a new highway coming through.
Laszlo is joined by Pip (Kathryn Tkel), who, at first, is simply there to make money as a gravedigger. But Pip, whose home life with Patrick (Joseph Rende) is unsettled at best, becomes caught up as Laszo tells what he knows about the grave’s inhabitant. The Englishwoman was named Isabella Ashecombe (Natalie Palan), and the man who grieved for her, Alexander Charon (Ryan Tasker).Scenes fluidly alternate among those in the graveyard, in Pip’s apartment, and in England, where, with Laszlo and Pip watching, Alexander meets Isabella — and becomes dangerously entangled with her family.
The story instantly sucks the viewer in: Alexander, a young, idealistic doctor, meets an older physician, Geoffrey Pockworth (Brian O’Connor), on a train in the English Moors. But was their meeting chance? Due to circumstances beyond his control, Alexander is forced to go with Pockworth to the Ashecombe estate, where he’s instantly attracted to Isabella, and finds that her elderly father is, and has been, in a near-death state. Alexander’s ethics are challenged when asked to consider the prospect of ending the man’s life; the situation is exacerbated by Isabella’s over-the-top, angry brother Thomas (Tony Johnston).
Their stories unfold with intensity in the engaging drama.
What’s missing from this production of “The Gravedigger’s Tango” are beefier, possibly more creative, production values that really capture the eeriness permeating through the play. Realizing that Second Wind and similar small companies have limited resources, it may seem an undoable task. But with such committed actors and a classy script, “The Gravedigger’s Tango” deserves a physical setting that’s as lively as its spirit.
A Beautiful Home for the Incurable
Thursday, July 23, 2006
By Linda Ayres-Frederick
It isn’t often that you go to the theatre and have nothing to complain about. It’s even less often that you go and find yourself completely engaged in the story, laughing out loud and feeling like you sure are glad you got there, and you want to tell everyone you know that they have something delightful to put at the top of their “fun things to do this weekend” list!
Well, it finally happened, and it’s happening right now in Second Wind Production’s A Beautiful Home for the Incurable, playing at Traveling Jewish Theatre. Written and directed by Ian Walker, A Beautiful Home has just the right ingredients for a zany, well-crafted hit: terrifically delineated off-the-wall characters, perfectly portrayed by competent, emotionally-present actors, funny dialogue (yet not so clever that it’s unbelievable), a believable story line, an empathetic hero you care about who is different at the end of the tale after going through events that cause him to change, and (hold onto your hats) a beginning, middle, and end. Oh my! Have we struck an artistic mother lode here or what?
Bunny Temple, our hero, is an agoraphobe (won’t go outside) living in New York. Each week, he organizes a get-together of his friends: Lucy, a narcoleptic (when excited, falls into a state where her body is inert, but her mind is awake); Madilyn, a transient global (that means temporary) amnesiac (forgets she’s had sex); and Nick, an apraxic (cannot perform purposeful movements). And you thought your friends were weird! When they discover that Bunny is the victim of identity theft and about to be expelled from his home, the four decide to find the thief for themselves, relying on a trail of credit card slips to “re-create the man.” It’s amazing what one can learn about someone from what they buy over the internet.
While A Beautiful Home explores the issue of powerlessness through the eyes of four unique individuals who are relegated to the sidelines of society by their illnesses, it also offers a thoughtful examination of identity in the modern world, and the struggle many people face to free themselves from media images and preconceptions about beauty and self-worth. While often hilarious, A Beautiful Home shows us the shared wounds that create one’s personal identity, and therein lies the power of the piece.
Sitting in the dark with Madilyn, Bunny talks of those moments taken from everyone: “By what we’re afraid of… stolen by microwaves and fast-food, all these things that are supposed to make life easier, to save us time. That fast forward us to the moment we think we want. They’re just shortcuts. But maybe we’re skipping over all the important parts.” Pretty good for someone whose identity has been stolen.
We do get to meet the culprit! Showing up on the ruse of conducting a survey, the usurping Bunny, referred to as Temple, is a complete insult to humanity which is all the more annoying to our endearing Bunny. Not that Temple doesn’t have a good back story. Spit out by a failing dot-com, the thieving fellow has turned his bitterness into an aggressive act. And the “phobes,” working together, have a challenge to overpower this bitter Temple.
The ensemble includes Andrew Calabrese as Nick, Durand Ford as Temple, Mary McGloin as Lucy, Eloisa Ramos as Madilyn, and Timothy Redmond as Bunny. They are all well cast, don’t miss a beat, and are delightful to watch. Fred Sharkey’s set with odd-ball geometrically-shaped cut-out walls adds to the visual enjoyment as does Rob Siemens’ spot-on sound design. A Beautiful Home for the Incurable — you simply must see this Must See!!Pear Avenue's "Incurable" Engaging
The Pear Avenue Theatre in Mountain View is gaining reputation as a venue for quality plays and as a gateway for newer, unproduced works. As a result, some of the best performers in the Bay Area are drawn to this small, unpretentious, 40 seat theater.
The theater is premiereing a new work, "A Beautiful Home for the Incurable" by Ian Walker. This warm, loving comedy is a trbute to those who fall through society's cracks, the social misfits who live invisibly outside of the mainstream.
It is a well-constructed play about four dysfunctional friends who group together to outwit a very clever identity theif.
Driven by frustration and greed, a victim of the dot.com collapse, Bernard Temple (Michael Sofaer), steals the identity of another with the same name and goes on a buying rampage.
His theft had been simplified because he was able to invade the computer of the other Temple, nicknamed Bunny (Eric Rice), who suffers from agoraphobia, a fear of open spaces. He never leaves his New York City apartment and conducts all of his business on the PC.
Bunny has three co-dependent friends who meet with him once a week. Nick (Bill D'Agostino) has a condition that impairs his physical movements. Madeline (Shannon Stowe) is an occasional amnesiac who is liable to tell fibs in conversation. Lucy (Kristen Lo) is a narcoleptic, falling asleep at any moment, who dreams of buying a home so they can all live together.
When the other three discover that Temple has rendered Bunny virtually penniless, and his is in danger of losing his only shelter, they swing into action to ensnare Temple in his own web of deceit.
This is a very engaging comedy, written by one who is wise to the world of the dysfunctional and disadvantaged.
There is no maudlin appeal for sympathy. All are independent within the confines of their psychological and physical disabilities. The dialogue sparkles as all of the eccentricities of these special people are given an outlet and are woven into a tapestry of warm, loving, and true friends.
Director Jeanie Forte pulled together a first-rate, audience winning cast. As Bunny, Rice projects a persona controlled by effort but interrupted intermittently by panic and mania.
As his nemesis, Temple, Sofaer is cunningly confident in his evil doings.
Stowe and Lo merge their strengths to push Bunny toward a freer future.
In this excellent cast, D'Agnostino almost steals the show as effete, self-indulgent, prejudiced Nick.
Walker is an accomplished playwright with a number of successes already under his belt. This one is a winner.
~ Keith Kreitman is a freelance writer with The Oakland Tribune. An online version of the original review can be found here.
'Incurable' optimists: Gentle comedy at Montclair's Luna does not mock the Afflicted
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
BY PETER FILICHIA
Star-Ledger StaffPut an agoraphobe, an apraxiac, a narcoleptic and a transient global amnesiac in a room together, and what do you have? Surprisingly enough, a pretty tender play: "A Beautiful Home for the Incurable," now at Luna Stage Company in Montclair.
Playwright Ian Walker's greatest achievement in this new gentle comedy is treating his characters with sympathy and dignity. Many a lesser writer would have mined trouble-plagued people for cheap laughs. Walker, though, makes them into an endearing group of friends that-- with one exception -- are quite supportive of each other. The show takes place in Bernard "Bunny" Temple's apartment -- replete with five locks on the door. He's the agoraphobe, but he likes to entertain in his home, even if narcoleptic Lucy suddenly falls asleep (and on the floor) in the middle of a conversation. Bunny even puts up with nasty Nick, who's quick to tell his host that agoraphobia is a genuine mental illness, while he and Lucy are simply afflicted with conditions their bodies can't control. Nick's problem is apraxia, which means he can't quite predict what his next move will be. Though he may want to shake hands, he's just as likely to pick up his leg and offer his foot instead.
Today there's a new visitor: Madilyn, who is sharing an Internet relationship with Bunny. She's the one with transient global amnesia -- meaning that she easily forgets information from time to time. So when Bunny's plain life is threatened by a man who has stolen his identity and has been charging on his credit cards, all vow to fight. Alas, Madilyn has a tough time concentrating, and Lucy has difficulty staying awake. Nick, though,relishes the challenge, and is ready to do battle. Can this afflicted group overtake a sharp, menacing white-collar criminal? It's a lightweight little farce, but it makes a point that in these complicated times, one just can't stick his head in the sand and call it a life. People can work at conquering their fears, and any effort is a victory in itself.
Much credit goes to director Paul Whelihan, for he came in at the last minute to stage the show when the original director left over artistic differences. Inheriting a cast isn't easy for a director, but Whelihan has seen that every one of his actors gives a substantial performance. Erik Kever Ryle makes Bunny borderline nerdy, with curly locks that look as if they're clenched tight. His endearing smile, though, helps an audience to care
about him. Dawn Luebbe is a comic find as the gangly Lucy, who can make her long, giraffe-like neck thrust out to a genuine 45-degree angle. Costume designer Chelsea Harriman has dressed her in a riotous array of colors, which helps define the character's eccentricities. What a lovely performance Anne Connolly gives as the bubbly Madilyn. Connolly has a matter-of- fact nature that draws in an audience. She doesn't make her character flashy, but she certainly makes her seem real. David Sitler is appropriately gruff as Nick, and Brian Townes has marvelous Mephistophelan menace as the identity thief.
Though no set designer is credited, the nicely appointed apartment has a charming detail for an agoraphobe: A sampler that reads, "There's no place like home." There's no play quite like the winsome and well-intentioned "A Beautiful Home for the Incurable," either.
(reproduced by permission, http://www.ianwalker.playwright.iwarp.com)
A Sweet Theatrical Treat at the Pear
The Pear Avenue Theatre is small to be sure. The 40-seat playhouse is so tiny that to go to the bathroom during a play you must cross the stage, and when you finally get there, you find a sign above the toilet requesting that you not flush during the performance.
But the theater's size is also its strength, and the intimate environment of The Pear is the perfect setting for Ian Walker's outstanding new comedy "A Beautiful Home for the Incurable," directed by Jeanie Forte.
The play, the final one of The Pear's second season, stars four friends with uncommon mental ailments who comprise a sort of support group, leaning on one another for advice and help. When agoraphobic Bunny (Eric Rice) reveals that his identity has been stolen on the Internet and the thief has made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars, the group joins forces to find the culprit.
The first and last scenes are, without a doubt, the funniest parts of the play. The characters do not stand well on their own, but when the entire ensemble is together, the result is nothing less than side-splitting. Bunny's frantic manner of speech and choppy gesturing is amusing, Temple (Michael Sofaer) has an almost humorous annoying quality and Madilyn (Shannon Stowe) has some great comedic moments, but Nick (Bill D'Agostino) and Lucy (Kristen Lo) steal the show. The dry, sarcastic wit of D'Agostino (a writer at the Voice's sister paper, the Palo Alto Weekly) contrasts perfectly with bubbly and spirited Lo.
Yet there is another, more tender, sweet side to this story. The play is only about mental illness and identity theft on the surface; beneath this exterior you find questions about the definition of normal, the powerlessness of those who find themselves on the fringes of society, and the struggles we all face with self-identity.
Ultimately, I left the theater with a greater appreciation for the difficulties people outside the mainstream face every day, be it mental, political or economic. And clocking in at under two hours, including a 15-minute intermission, "A Beautiful Home for the Incurable" manages to provoke interesting questions without losing the audience's attention. The clever ending is sure to leave you smiling and looking forward to The Pear's next season.
E-mail David Herbert at dherbert@mv-voice.com
The original reviews for The Stone Trilogy and Ghost in the Light can be found at: http://secondwind.8m.com/review/article.htm
