Theatre Guild of Simsbury, Simsbury Methodist Church,
Simsbury, CT
Through April 10, 2016
by Stuart W. Gamble
A.R. Gurney’s plays have been staples of the theatre for
over 30 years (“Love Letters,” “Sylvia,” etc.), which makes the latest local
incarnation of his cleverly written “The Dining Room” seem familiar. Simsbury
Theatre Guild immediately immerses its audience in the world of upper class
W.A.S.P. society full of neuroses and humor, heavy on the scotch and soda.
For those not familiar with the dramatic structure of this
comedy/drama, the action revolves around various families at the dining room
table in a home somewhere in the suburbs. If the table could talk, it would
reveal much about the denizens of this house. But since it can’t, the theatergoers
are given brief glimpses into the lives of some 50 characters played quite
convincingly by only 15 actors.
Act I is weaker than the second, but a couple of scenes standout,
one of which takes place at the breakfast table of a very uptight family.
Father (Steve O’Brien ) cannot tolerate a single seed in his freshly squeezed
orange juice and controls and contradicts every word and action of his
impressionable young son (Nick Parisi). Both actors mine hilarity that anyone who
has been a parent or child (all of us) can understand. At the same time, the
play introduces the privileged world of the noblesse obliged with its tennis
courts, private schools, and accompanying prejudices.
Act II takes off with funnier and more poignant moments.
Perhaps the best of these is the show-stopping eleventh hour scene in which an
outrageously pompous clan ( Nick Parisi, Virginia Wolf, Donna Sennott, and
Steve O’Brien) and their faithful Irish maid Bertha (Penny Carroll) react in
hilarious fashion when the uncle’s “bachelor attachments” (homosexual) are
called into question at the country club besmirching the family’s honor. Played
at such a frantic, farcical pace, the direction is aptly able to make earlier,
less funny moments seem better than they are.
Although overall well-cast, a half-dozen of the actors bear
special mention: Melissa Veale in dual roles of picture-perfect mothers and a
rebellious teen; Penelope Kokines as two very troubled adulterous alcoholics;
Nick Parisi in a hilarious turn as father of the dishonored family; and Phillip
Godeck, who becomes a variety of sleazy characters.
Top acting honors belong to Steve O’Brien and Virginia Wolf.
O’Brien stages each of his characters with such distinction that it seems as if
different actors are playing each one. The same goes for Wolf, who relishes her
roles with perfectly timed comedy.
Credit belongs to Director Rosemarie Beskind, whose deft
hand takes care that none of the scenes or characters outstay their welcome.
Beskind understands that in order to capture and maintain the audience’s
attention, the action must move, and fortunately, it does.
Often, backstage crew members are forgotten in reviews. That
said, kudos to costumer Tracy Weed and set designer Dian Pomeranz’s. Every prop
is perfectly places, even the finger bowls.
