On The Spot Theatre's Doc & Kate: Of Legends and Lovers
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
Reviewed 12/12/98
(out of )Before I begin, allow me to set the record straight, so that potential audience members of On The Spot Theatre's Doc & Kate: Of Legends and Lovers know where I stand: I am not a fan of One Person Shows. I have seen a few, such as Tru, or Mark Twain Tonight, that have been carried off, but only on the basis of spectacular performers. I just don't consider monologues to be inherently dramatic, and drama is a pretty big chunk of theatre. While there are moments of irony caused by the two-point-of-view production of these two One Act, One Person Shows, I'm still not sure that this constitutes theatre. With this warning, I proceed.
Playwright Terry Earp, Director A. Nannette Taylor,
and actor Wyatt Earp, on the heels of their success with
the One Person Show Wyatt Earp (I have not reviewed
it), have decided to team up and take on two more of the players
in the OK Corral shootout, "Doc" Holliday and his significant
other, "Big Nose" Kate. Using a monologue format, Ms.
Earp gives the audience two different perspectives on the Wild
West, and the abovementioned incident. "Doc" discusses
the events that lead him to be a gambler and gunslinger, in addition
to a respected dentist, and "Big Nose" Kate explains
why she became a prostitute, and the lover of a killer. This is
an evening of two historic people not meant to be together, but
too in love to avoid their bonding, waxing poetic about their
choices. And while this is some interesting material, it seems
better suited for an essay than a play. The biggest question of
the evening for myself and my companion was why we weren't just
reading the books these two one acts were based on.
Ms. Taylor does the best she can with the limited material she
has available. How much action can be directed, though, with one
actor speaking to non-existent characters, and another speaking
to a headstone? What blocking and action she manages to squeeze
from the situation is the only relief to an otherwise static production.
Perhaps in the hands of two accomplished actors, this play would
sound less like a lecture, but alas, Mr. Earp's unfocussed performance
and Ms. Earp's tentative portrayal hinder an already talky show.
Neither have the gift of creating mental pictures in the heads
of their audience about the mythic characters and situations of
which they speak. Instead, there were moments when they were even
confused about the characters they went on about at length. While
I know a bit about these characters, and thus was not as confused,
my companion, who had no idea about the story that intertwined
the characters of this production, was left scratching her head
at the end of the evening.
In the first piece, "Doc" is ruminating on his situation
in a jail cell in Colorado, using two or three unseen cellmates
as sounding boards. He gives us an account of his life from a
genteel son of Georgia, to a respected dentist, through his being
stricken with TB and his subsequent Western trek that lead him
to the Earps and infamy. Mr. Earp does a good job with his accent,
and the prim ways of his character, but never seems to focus on
the story himself, sometimes even coming off a bit bored in the
process.
In the second piece, "Big Nose" Kate is recollecting
her choices to the grave of her recently deceased last husband.
She explains the limits of opportunities for a woman alone in
post-Civil War America, and how despite her impressive learning
and intelligence, the only recourse for a woman to retain her
independence was to become a prostitute. Ms. Earp is extremely
hesitant in her performance from the start, and though portraying
an aged character, misses in believability with her age, and the
power of her character. This takes the textually stronger of the
two pieces and undercuts whatever power it may have had.
The only acknowledged designer in the program was Raymond King
Shurtz for lighting. This was as impressive as any production
in the tiny On The Spot space.
After having heard raves about the production of Ms. Earp's Wyatt
Earp, I had hoped to see something different that would
energize the One Person Play concept. Unfortunately, judging from
these two offerings, no new ground has been explored, and these
interesting history lessons are better suited for museums and
lecture halls than a stage.
Production Details:
Doc & Kate: Of Legends and Lovers by Terry
Earp
On The Spot Theatre, Phoenix
546-6606
November 27th - December 19th, 1998