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Berkshire ReviewUnder Milk Wood
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We are not wholly bad or good Who live our lives under Milk Wood, And Thou, I know, wilt be the first To see our best side, not our worst. --- Reverend Eli Jenkins, one of over sixty characters in the Welch village of Llareggub -- the poet-author's playful turn-it-around-title. |
Dana Ivey
(Photo: Richard Feldman) |
Reputed to be Thomas' attempt to write a Welch version of James Joyce's Ulyses, American audiences will also recognize the influence of Thornton Wilder's Our Town and, even more, Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology. While intended to let the voices evoke the images of Thomas' velvety words, the more detailed and colorful canvas director Darko Tresjak and his talented design team have painted makes for a most satisfying revival. The more than two dozen actors not only speak the words with crystal clarity but reveal the morbidity beneath the appealing eccentricity and humor of the pastoral landscape. Interestingly, though the handsome staging opens the play up, it retains the sounds and flavor that were the hallmarks of once popular radio plays.
Alexander Dodge's painterly grassy knoll of a village revolves as slowly and surely as the hands of the clock moving through the day. The performances make Thomas' playful, richly alliterative stream of words bubble and transform the shadowy figures into close-up portraits of real people, rather than stock characters from an idealized travel brochure.
The cast is full of bravura turns, but what keeps everything and everyone centered are the two main voices, (Dana Ivey and D. B. Sweeney) the duo version of the Our Town stage manager, who only occasionally leave their positions at either side of the stage. Ms. Ivey, who seems incapable of giving anything but a superb performance, doesn't disappoint. Sweeney is a worthy co-narrator. The ensemble skillfully doubles up on the various characters. At the risk of overlooking some who should be mentioned, here are some who warrant an extra round of applause:
Off-stage marrieds Becky Ann Baker and Dylan Baker are hilariously well-matched as Mr. and Mrs. Cherry Owens -- she "lucky" enough to have two husbands, "one drunk, one sober", cheerfully hands the drink loving one the coin needed for a night of imbibing. Jay Goede, last seen on Broadway as Frog in A Year With Frog and Toad is equally delightful as Mog Edwards and Mr. Ogmore. Jack Willis gives a zestful rendition of Mr. Benyon, the butcher who takes pride in his bloody trade and the less flamboyant Mr.Waldo. Kristine Nielsen is a standout both as Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard and Mrs. Benyon. Charles Janasz is wonderfully droll as the Walter Mitty-like Mr. Pugh whose dreams of poisoning his sober spouse (Susan Blommaert) are given an edge by his brown-wrapped reading copy of The Poisoner's Book and the way he "poisons her with his eyes". Stephen Gabis as the minister, and Jarlath Conroy as Captain Cat are two of the other memorable characters.
The set's slow rotation echoes the leisurely pace the movement of the clock for the citizens of Llareggub. Yet it all comes full circle in just an hour and forty minutes without intermission.
Thomas lived just long enough to direct the 1951 trial performance of Under the Milkwood and read the part of the First Voice, as well as several other parts. After his death six months later (in New York), he was buried in Laugharnem, the village that inspired his last work, including Milkwood. Its endurance is best described by a quote attributed to him in the WTF program: "Only a great writer can give this absurd country, full of green fields, and chimney stacks, beauty and disease, the loveliness of the villages and the smoke-ridden horror of the towns its full value and recognition."
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UNDER MILK WOOD Written by Dylan Thomas Directed by Darko Tresnjak First Voice/ D.B. Sweeney Second Voic/ Dana Ivey Captain Cat/Jarlath Conroy Mog Edwards, Mr. Ogmore/Jay Goede Miss Myfanwy Price, Gossamer Beynon/Kathhy McCafferty Mr. Waldo, Butcher Beynon/ Jack Willis Mrs. Ogmore-Pritchard, Mrs. Beynon/ Kristine Nielsen Mrs. Pugh, First Neighbor/ Susan Blommaert Mr. Pugh, Mr. Pritchard, Evans the Death/Charles Janaz Cherry Owen, Dai Bread/Dylan Baker Mrs. Cherry Owen, Mrs. Organ Morgan, Waldo's Mother/ Becky Ann Baker Organ Morgan, Jack Black, Preacher/ Kenneth Garner Reverend Eli Jenkins, Lord Cut-Glass/ Stephen Gabis Mary Ann Sailors, Second Neighbor/ Phyllis Somerville Polly Garter, Rosie Probert/Rachel A. Siegel Sinbad Sailors, Fourth Drowned/ Gus Danowski Willy Nilly, Second Drowned/John Forest Nogood Boyo, First Drowned/ Baron Vaughn Mrs. Dai Bread One, Third Neighbor, Mrs. Utah Watkins/Stefani Katarina Cvijetic Mrs. Dai Bread Two, Fourth Neighbor/ Amina Robinson Mrs. Willy Nilly, Lil the Gluepot/ Nancy McNulty Lily Smalls, Matti Richards/Abby Huston Child's Mother, Blodwen Bowen/ Nikki Bergel Child's Mother, Mrs. Flusher/ Liz Wisan Geisha, Duicie Prothero/ Susane Lee Mae Rose Cottage, Effie Bevan/Rachel Frances Shaw Ocky Milkman / Scott Sweatt Attila Rees, Third Drowned/ Jim Kane Fisherman, Fifth Drowned, Utah Watkins/ Barnett Cohen Old Man/ Ralph Renzi Matti Richard's Mother, Mrs. Floyd and Mrs. Rose Cottage/ Rosalind Cramer Children/Kaliswa Brewster, Adrianna Carter, Henry Fuore, Brianne Morrison, Elise Passamani, Rachel Marisa Siegel, Jonathan Silver, Louise Smith, Adam Stanton, Ryder Stanton Sets:Alexander Dodge Sound: Kurt Kellenberger Costumes: Linda Cho Lighting:Rui Rita Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes, without intermission 1000 Main Street, Williamstown, MA (413/597-3400) web address July 23 to August 3rd, 2003 Tuesday through Friday, 8:30 p.m. --Saturday; matinees, 4 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m. Tickets: $20-$53 Reviewd by Elyse Sommer based 7/25/03 performance |
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