Posts Tagged ‘jeffrey hatcher’

Simply Staged “Turn of the Screw” at WEPG is a Well-Cast Thriller

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , on October 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The Turn of the Screw
by Jeffrey Hatcher
Directed by Morgan Maul-Smith
West End Players Guild
October 4, 2024

Rob McLemore, Payton Gillam
Photo by John Lamb
West End Players Guild

It’s October, and in the spooky Halloween mindset, West End Players Guild is presenting a haunting, impeccably cast thriller. Featuring only two performers playing all the roles, this simply staged adaptation of Henry James’s classic The Turn of the Screw by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher is a fascinating mystery with an edge of creepiness that works especially well for this season. The biggest highlight of this show is its marvelous cast.

Cast members Payton Gillam and Rob McLemore are billed in the program as simply “The Woman” and “The Man”, respectively, although Gillam plays one role throughout the story, while McLemore plays several. The Woman is a governess, hired by a mysterious man to take charge of his orphaned niece and nephew on his family’s country estate called Bly. She befriends the only other adult on the premises, the housekeeper Mrs. Grose, and quickly meets and loves Flora, the little girl who is either unwilling or unable to speak. Soon they are joined by the boy, 10-year-old Miles, who has been dismissed from his school for undisclosed “unspeakable” reasons. As the governess gets to know the children and the house, she soon begins to see ghostly apparitions, apparently of a man and  woman who used to work at the house, and she becomes increasingly obsessed with finding the cause of the haunting and driving the spirits away. Are the ghosts real? Why is the governess so preoccupied? What do the children know? This mystery unfolds in an increasingly suspenseful narrative as the Woman looks for answers to the mystery that threatens to consume her and affects her perception of reality and her health, as well as the wellbeing of those around her.

The tone of this show is in keeping with the Gothic thriller genre, with its setting, characterization, and overall vibe. The cast is stellar, led by a strikingly convincing performance from Gillam as the initially somewhat naive but increasingly obsessed governess. Gillam plays every scene with credible energy and a palpable sense of growing suspicion. Also excellent is McLemore in a variety of roles, from the imperious, evasive Gentleman who hires the Woman, to the kindly Mrs. Grose, to the enigmatic young Miles, who becomes a major focus of the Woman’s suspicions, and obsession. The growing suspense is well-maintained in the brisk pacing from the actors and director Morgan Maul-Smith, with the sense of enigma and mystery insistently ramping up to keep the audience interested, and guessing.

The production values here are impressive, even in their simplicity. The relatively basic set by Maul-Smith is an effective backdrop for the action, augmented by strikingly effective lighting also designed by Maul-Smith that underscores the classic Gothic tone of the story. There are also impressively detailed costumes by Tracey Newcombe that add to the credibility of the story. Even though there aren’t any flashy sets or special effects, the pacing, lighting and overall tone-setting help to aid the audience’s imagination of what is happening.

Whether you are familiar with the source novel or any of its film adaptions or not, The Turn of the Screw at West End Players Guild is a riveting, thoroughly suspenseful story led by a fantastic two-person cast. It works well for this time of year, as well. If you’re looking for some classic Gothic horror/suspense/mystery for Halloween season, this is a great show to check out.

Payton Gilliam, Rob McLemore
Photo by John Lamb
West End Players Guild

West End Players Guild is presenting The Turn of the Screw at Union Avenue Christian Church until October 13, 2024

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A Poignant, Personal “Tuesdays With Morrie” at New Jewish Theatre

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , on October 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Tuesdays With Morrie
by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom
Directed by Annamaria Pileggi
New Jewish Theatre
October 5, 2017

Andrew Michael Neiman, James Anthony
Photo by Eric Woolsey
New Jewish Theatre

 

The first production of New Jewish Theatre’s 21st season is the stage adaptation of Mitch Albom’s popular book Tuesdays With Morrie. It’s a two-man show, bringing to the stage two excellent local actors, continuing NJT’s tradition of excellent casting. I hadn’t read the book or seen the play, and I’m glad this has been my introduction to it.

The story is autobiographical, depicting the friendship between author and sportswriter Mitch Albom (Andrew Michael Neiman) and his former university professor, Morrie Schwartz (James Anthony). Mitch narrates the story, starting with how he first met and got to know Morrie at Brandeis University in the 1970s, but then lost touch after Mitch graduated and he threw himself into his career. After 16 years of no contact, Mitch finally sees Morrie on TV, being interviewed on Nightline. It’s through this program that Mitch learns of Morrie’s diagnosis with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Mitch then calls Morrie, who actually remembers him, and the phone call eventually leads to a visit, which becomes a series of visits in which Mitch gets reacquainted with Morrie as Morrie’s illness progresses. Over the course of a few months, Mitch and Morrie become close again, and Mitch learns a lot from Morrie about what really matters in life. We also see the devastating effects of Morrie’s condition, as the once energetic professor finds himself unable to perform basic everyday tasks, and Mitch has to help him more and more during his visits. It’s a vivid depiction of two men and their remarkable friendship as both of them learn to deal with issues of life, mortality, and priorities in different but highly personal ways.

It’s a moving story already, but what really makes this production is the casting. Neiman and Anthony are both excellent in their roles, with Neiman convincingly portraying Mitch’s journey from a workaholic who buries his emotions in his job to being forced to care about Morrie and his situation and reconsider his own outlook on life. Anthony, especially, is superb as Morrie, an intelligent, witty, and vital man who has to come to terms with his own physical decline and his impending death. It’s a remarkable performance, achingly realistic as Morrie’s motor functions first falter, and then gradually fail, while Morrie still maintains his passion for life and his concern for Mitch and everyone else around him. The later scenes in the play may be difficult to watch, as Morrie’s decline is more and more evident, and as Neiman and Anthony portray the increasingly close friendship between these two men as the inevitable approaches.

The production values here, as usual, are first-rate, with a detailed and imaginative set by Cristie Johnston that focuses on a large, leaning bookcase, and also effectively utilizes a turntable at a key point in the production. The sense of movement and passage of time is effectively achieved through the staging, as well. There’s also excellent work from lighting designer Michael Sullivan, costume designer Michele Friedman Siler, props master Sarah Azizo, and sound designer Amanda Werre, as all the technical elements work together to help bring the audience into Mitch and Morrie’s world.

Tuesdays With Morrie is an emotional play, portraying a full range of feelings and moods from humor to drama to heartrending sadness, to ever-persistent hope, as personified by Morrie and his relationship with and influence on Mitch. It’s an expertly staged and acted production that’s likely to bring laughter as well as tears. It’s a thoroughly believable portrayal of a genuinely affectionate friendship, as well as the depiction of terminal illness and the process of grief. It’s another memorable production from New Jewish Theatre.

Andrew Michael Neiman, James Anthony
Photo by Eric Woolsey
New Jewish Theatre

New Jewish Theatre is presenting Tuesdays With Morrie at the Marvin & Harlene Wool Studio Theatre at the JCC’s Staenberg Family Complex until October 22, 2017

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