REVIEW: Silverthorne Theater, "The Cake"

Silverthorne Theater, Emily Dickinson Hall, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA

https://silverthornetheater.org

from June 9 - 17, 2023

by Shera Cohen

Perhaps the key word to describe this play is "change". Times change, people change, lessons change. Who changes, why change?

Is "The Cake" a comedy or tragedy? The audience learns something, sometimes a little bit profound, sometimes not. Enough to rethink the play's theme? Probably not. With its laundry list of contemporary themes and language, this might be a short-lived play. However, at its best, it could become a piece of literature which replicates the mores of 2023.

Character Jen, portrayed by Claudia Maurino, asks her mother's dear friend Della, owner of a bakery, to make her a cake for her wedding. Silverthorne found a major coup by casting Elizabeth Aspenlieder, whose name has been associated with Shakespeare & Company for decades, to portray the lead character Della. Della is humorous, doubtful, loving, and a bible-quoter. Della is dumbstruck when Jen informs her that she is marrying Macy

Yes, Macy is a girl, a black girl. Macy, played by Tahmie Der, is bold, forthright, and savvy to the new era, taking on the responsibility of instructing the others to realize that the world is changing, starting right there in Della's little bake shop.

Sam Samuels, essentially, the only male actor in the cast, makes wise use of his two scenes. He is Della's husband. He is plumber. That might say enough about Tim. But, no. Samuel's presents Tim's changes simultaneously as tender and funny.

The play's venue at Emily Dickinson Hall, Hampshire College, may be stocked with lights, stage levels, backstage needs, lots of parking, etc. Yet, this location was a poor choice to mount a play. The stage is spread across the entire floor with bedrooms as bookends to Della's shop. Bakery scenes were solid with audible vocals. Yet perhaps one-third of the scenes took place in the bedrooms. The sight lines were non-existent. I could not see any actor. Add to that, neither younger actor was audible, except to audience members seated in two rows alongside the bedroom set. I see no credit for set designer, which usually means that the director, Gina Kaufmann, took on double duty.

"The Cake" has so much potential, and some of it was present onstage at Hampshire College. There is still time for Silverthorne to reconfigure its set at the very least.

Note: Partial nudity should have been warned in Silverthorne's publicity. 

REVIEW: Silverthorne Theater, The Diary of Anne Frank

Hawks & Reed Arts Center, Greenfield, MA

www.silverthornetheater.org

through October 26, 2019

by Shera Cohen

It might seem odd to think of the drama, “The Diary of Anne Frank” as joyful, uplifting, and beautiful. The antithesis immediately comes to mind; i.e. sad, horror, and ugliness in a world that permitted (and oftentimes still permits) humanity to become inhumane.

The play depicts one extended family in the center of WWII, literally in the middle of the war’s timeline in 1944 in The Netherlands, at the midpoint of Europe’s west coast. The Franks represent a small group of familiar Jews, multiplied thousands of times to equal the millions of Jews and others deemed unsuitable to Nazi Germany as members of the human race. However, “Anne Frank” is far more than a prototype of thousands of personal stories that have and could have been written. Anne Frank’s account is true, as are the people who live with her in a small attic hide away. The real Anne is the star of her own play, as so much of the script is attained from her diary; profound and serious at times, light and juvenile at other moments.

The producers and/or director have picked an exemplary troupe of 10 actors, eight of who are crowded into four rooms on a proscenium stage, as if sliced in half for the audience’s view. John Iverson’s set components are as important as any one of the actors. Dark and dreary, cramped and claustrophobic, Iverson has designed a replica of the actual site in 1944.

Samantha (Sammi) Choquette shines, even in the dramatic and bleak moments. At the same time, she portrays a typical young teenager who longs for fun and boys. Choquette creates a balance of coquettish schoolgirl with a young woman who must grow up too fast due to her circumstances. Choquette is pure joy to watch.

The leader of the family, in all ways secular and religious, is Otto Frank. Frank Aronson gives Otto a soft and tempered exterior. At the same time, the audience can envision the wheels ever spinning in Otto’s head, as the burden of every moment of every day falls on him. Seemingly, without trying, Aronson represents a wise and extremely caring father, husband, and friend.

Director Keith Langsdale moves the many characters around the multi-room set. In spite of the lack of doors from one room to another, it is always clear where his characters are going and why.

Plays performed at Silverthorne Theater are worth seeking out.

PREVIEW: Silverthorne Theatre’s “Tar2f”

Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, Greenfield, MA

April 12-15 & 19–21, 2018

www.silverthornetheater.org

In this farcical rebuke of religious and moral hypocrisy – particularly timely in today's world – Tartuffe, a wily con man who passes himself off as a pious puritan, has insinuated himself into the household  of Orgon, a wealthy Parisian. The impostor has designs on his benefactor's fortune, as well as his attractive wife. Members of the family are exasperated, then outraged, by Tartuffe's malign influence, as he plots to gain control of Orgon's assets, disinherit his son, marry his daughter and take over his house – along with his mind.

The script updates Moliere's language without losing his incisive wit. In this face-off between love and greed, credulity and cynicism, is a framing device that parallels the crisis within the play, leading to a surprise climax. The tuneful score likewise reflects both the play's period and our own.  

The play runs April 12-15 & 19–21, 2018, at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, Greenfield, MA