Chester Theatre Company, Chester, MA
through July 6 2014
by Walt Haggerty
“Madagascar,” the opening production of this, the Chester
Theatre Company’s 25th Anniversary Season, is an ideal choice for this
adventurous group, always ready to tackle the unique demands of a challenging
work. In J. T. Rogers “Madagascar” they have met their challenge head on with
an enormously talented cast of three under the astute direction of James
Warwick.
The story opens in a hotel room overlooking the Spanish
steps, one of Rome’s most romantic settings. The bedroom seen is devoid of
romance. Almost barren, illuminated by a single light bulb, stripped of
whatever beauty or charm it may once have had, it is a perfect backdrop for
memories, and that is what the audience is given.
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| Photo By Rick Teller |
A young man, Paul, sometimes called Gideon, has mysteriously
disappeared, leaving behind his devoted twin sister, his adoring mother, and a
man who had once been his deceased father’s best friend, as well as his
mother’s lover. It is through a series of overlapping monologues, each
delivered from a different time frame by these three, that the audience learns
of the powerful hold that this missing character has on the remaining figures.
The role of the mother, Lillian, brilliantly played by Debra
Jo Rupp, is charming, elegant, and sophisticated. Kim Stauffer, as the daughter
June, is at times vivacious and melancholy. Nathan, portrayed by Paul O’Brien,
completes the trio as the former friend and lover, now a frustrated economist
living with guilt and regrets.
“Madagascar” is a skillfully written and intriguing memory
play, at moments reminiscent of some of the early work of the late Tennessee
Williams, as each character recalls their associations with Paul, the missing
son/brother, who had such a profound influence on the lives of those he left
behind.
As produced by the Chester Theatre group, “Madagascar” is a
most unusual, yet engrossing work, which leaves its audience with much to
digest and rethink long after the actors have left the stage and they have left
the theatre.
