Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA
through July 19, 2015
by Mary Ann Dennis
As a former apprentice from 1980 and 1981, it was
exhilarating to return to Williams College for the Williamstown Theatre
Festival’s world premier of William Inge’s "Off the Main Road." Kudos
to WTF for commissioning a piece that was long lost, then reintroduced by the
Inge Estate. This is the kind of mission WTF has always been known for -- work
that makes actors want to get their hands dirty, so to speak. Many WTF
productions have taken the next big step, over the New York border, to
Broadway, and "Main Road" is one that I hope makes it. The world
should see these artists. The play, the actors, and the technical aspects are
Broadway ready.
Chills and tears welled up in me as I parked in the garage,
then came into the lobby. My formative years in theatre were filled with right
out of college experiences with all the hopes and dreams in the world to work alongside
so many brilliant actors. While at the play this week, I happened to sit next
to an apprentice the same age as I was when I first learned from this rich and
electrifying group -- the same group for him, only decades later. I asked the
young apprentice if they were still allowed to perform a "line
rehearsal" with the main stage actors. He answered, yes and that he done
so. He has no idea that his summer at WTF will be incredibly invaluable; a
year's worth of acting classes in an hour or so. So glad some things hadn't
changed.
Okay, on to discussing the show…
The play's three key characters are a mother, daughter and
grandmother. Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winner Kyra Sedgwick makes her WTF
debut as the elegant but emotionally fragile Faye Garrit. Her character seeks
refuge from her husband by checking into a run-down resort on the outskirts of
St. Louis. With her is her 17-year-old daughter portrayed by Mary Wiseman.
Faye’s mother is acted by the formidable Estelle Parsons, an Academy Award and Lifetime Achievement winner and a frequent visitor to WTF's stage.
Director Evan Cabnet has the skill of perfectly casting this
gripping and powerful drama. He proves which Inge’s legacy of “penning rich,
emotionally hard-hitting stories populated by complicated and truthful, human
characters”.
Sedgwick’s portrayal of Faye is masterful. Wiseman is
enchanting, honest, and brilliant as her character struggles with the internal
conflict she faces of not wanting to be like her mother. Parsons is perfect as
Faye’s mother -- stuck in her ways, stereotypical and reminiscent of the
proverbial grandma. The male actors, Jeremy Davison and Aaron Costa Ganis, hold
their own well beside the female triumvirate
The crux of the play is the root of the cycle, a cause and
effect of three generations and their affects on each other. Personal,
political, and sexual awakenings connect the mother and daughter with
heartbreaking clarity.
I walked out of the theatre stunned with much to think about
-- my own life and family members, not to mention memories of my apprenticeship
at this superior theatre high on the gorgeous mountains of Williamstown. WTF
was brilliant theatre then, and it is now.
