By Robert Hicks

Thornton Wilder understood the dramatic power of personal loss amid the colloquial distractions of daily life and the chaotic intimations of the universe. In 1931, he wrote two early, one act plays, The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden & Pullman Car Hiawatha, both now staged together in sparse, sensitively acted productions by the Keen Company.

A woman is the central figure in both plays. The first play dramatizes the Kirby family's simple journey in their Chevrolet to elder daughter Beulah's house in Camden. But there is more to this play than the banal rituals of a family excursion. Along the way, Ma reprimands her son Arthur for his wisecrack about her pious devotion to God. Her daughter Caroline is a daydreamer, but when she spits out the car window, Ma scolds her too. Ma is a strong woman who has a habit of sitting in judgment of other people, but she cares little about what others think of her. She has lost a son to war, so she is resigned to the inevitability of death. Another tragedy awaits her when the family arrives in Camden. Despite another loss of life, she knows people must continue to go about their business, placing their faith in a benevolent God, even if mankind doesn't understand how He controls the universe.

In Pullman Car Hiawatha, Wilder reveals the outer and inner lives of train passengers en route from New York to Chicago. A Stage Manager orchestrates our understanding of these people's lives. We see how trivial and irritating they can act toward one another and how separated are their lives. An insane woman screams, announcing her desire to get off the train and return to New York. Later, she believes archangels have come for her. Unburdened now by her own thoughts, she remains misunderstood, so she is resigned to wait for death.

A Stage Manager summons the geographical, meteorological, astronomical and theological forces of a cacophonous universe. Amid all the activity, what captures our attention is Harriet Milbury, a young ill woman who unexpectedly dies in her berth. Archangels in blue serge suits gently take her away to heaven. She does not accept death. She'd rather be a ghost, roaming her house in the presence of her husband Philip. Harriet has lived an unfulfilled life and she seeks punishment for her shortcomings, so she can renew her self-identity. A doctor consoles her disconsolate husband. Harriet's final sad goodbyes anticipate Emily's farewell in Wilder's later, classic play, Our Town.

LINKS TO OTHER REVIEWS OF THORNTON WILDER PLAY
The Matchmaker
The Skin Of Our Teeth; (London)
The Skin Of Our Teeth/
The Skin Of Our Teeth (Berkshires)
Wilder, Wilder (Berkshires)

The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden & Pullman Car Hiawatha Written by Thornton Wilder Directed by Carl Forsman (The Happy Journey) and by Henry Wishcamper (Pullman Car Hiawatha) Cast for The Happy Journey: Jonathan Hogan (Stage Manager), Ann Dowd (Ma), Ryan Ward (Arthur), Laura Plouffe), Wilbur Edwin Henry (Pa), Lael Logan (Beulah) Cast for Pullman Car Hiawatha: Jonathan Hogan (Stage Manager), Susan Pellegrino (An Insane Woman), Dan Cordle (A Male Attendant), Jocelyn Rose (A Female Attendant), Martin Carey (Philip), Maria Dizzia (Harriet), Christa Scott Reed (A Maiden Lady), Glenn Pannell (A Middle Aged Doctor), Ann Dowd (A Stout Amiable Woman), Shane McRae (An Engineer, Bill), Peter Russo (An Engineer, Fred), Jimonn Cole (The Porter, Harrison), Ryan Ward (Grover's Corners, Ohio), John Patrick (The Field, Jupiter), Michael Warner (The Tramp), Pi Smith (Parkersburg, Ohio), Wilbur Edwin Henry (The Workman, a Ghost, and Saturn), Christopher Keough (The Worker, a watchman), Melodie Sisk (Ten O'Clock, Moon), Laura Plouffe (Eleven O'Clock), Kristen Bedard (Twelve O'Clock), Lael Logan (Venus), David Standish (Gabriel), DJ Mifflin (Michael) Set Design: Takeshi Kata Costume Design: Jenny Mannis Lighting Design: Josh Bradford Music: Aaron Meicht Running time: 65 minutes with no intermission Presented by Keen Company at The Connelly Theater, 220 E. 4th St. between (Aves. A/ B.) SmartTix 212-868-4444 Tuesday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $19. 6/19/04 to 7/18/04. Reviewed by Robert Hicks based on July 6th performance.