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Masthead
A CurtainUp Review
Walter Cronkite Is Dead
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Walter Cronkite may be dead but God is still living.— Patty to Margaret, two passengers whose flights are delayed by bad weather.
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Nancy Robinette and Sherri L. Edelen in Walter Cronkite is Dead.
(Photo: Scott Suchman)
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They have their differences. Patty (rhymes with Chatty) played by Sherri Edelen, goes on and on —about the bad weather that has delayed her flight, missed connections, birds, rust, terrorists, liberals, Muslims, gay marriage and carry-on luggage. She is en route to London to see The Lion King (an inside joke for theatre folk.)
Margaret (Nancy Robinette) who is more sophisticated though less well traveled awaits her first flight . . .to Moscow. To assuage her fear of flying she explains and mimes in a manner that is very amusing how planes stay in the air. Patty is suitably impressed by her new acquaintance's knowledge of aerodynamics. Margaret reveals her source: "Google has changed my life."
Both actresses are Washington favorites. They know how to deliver the goods. There is no exit from the conversation they have begun while waiting in scenic designer James Kronzer's generic airport waiting area that is starkly lit by Chris Lee. As the play unfolds and the women share confidences they find common ground in the delights and disappointments of having adult children and missing someone who has died. There's some pathos pertaining to the latter but for most of this is an elongated skit. The women chit-chat and dance around their differences. Patty hates the Kennedys; Margaret named her children after members of that clan.
While amusing in parts, Walter Cronkite Is Dead doesn't go far enough in exploring the real conflicts embedded in each woman's psyche. Playwright Calarco whose In The Absence of Spring, a prescient pre-9/11play about an apocalyptic New York, still resonates a decade after I saw it, is capable of delving deeply into his themes. This piece, however, never gets off the ground.
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Walter Cronkite Is Dead Written and directed by Joe Calarco Scenic design, James Kronzer Costume design, Kathleen Geldard Lighting design, Chris Lee Sound design, Matt Rowe With Sherri L. Edelen (Patty) and Nancy Robinette (Margaret). Running time is 90 minutes, no intermission. Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington, Va. 703-820-9771; www.signature-theatre.org From 10/26/10; closing 12/26/10 Review based on Saturday matinee, November 20, 2010 performance |
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