Overwhelmed by indecipherable reflections
"Hall of Mirrors" at Planet Earth Multi-cultural Theatre
** (out of *****)
Mark S.P. Turvin

	Planet Earth Theatre's seasons are always peppered with 
difficult, avant garde and classic pieces. Sometimes, as with 
their recent production of "Antigone," they manage to present a 
difficult text in an interesting, enlightening and contemporary 
way. Sometimes, the text, staging or performances overwhelm the 
production and sink a worthy attempt. PET's current offering, 
under the blanket title of "Hall of Mirrors," is two classic avant 
garde one-acts from the first half of the twentieth century: the 
dream-like "Ghost Sonata" by August Strindberg, and the 
claustrophobic "Deathwatch" by Jean Genet. While PET gets a nod 
for having the courage to take on two very difficult pieces, 
ultimately the evening winds up a mixed bag of interesting stage 
pictures and barely comprehensible text. 
	The better of the two offerings, Strindberg's "Ghost Sonata" 
is a dream play with iconographic characters and nightmarish 
images directed by Peter Cirino. A naive young student is drawn 
into the plot of a vindictive businessman to take over a 
deceptively beautiful house filled with interconnected residents 
to avenge his past treatment. The play is populated with such 
bizarre characters as "Mummy," the matriarch whose guilt over her 
past indiscretions has lead her to act like a parrot and live in a 
closet, and the omnipresent, mute "Milk Maid," a spirit who 
hauntingly moves through scenes stalking her murderer. 
	Mr. Cirino's fluid direction offers interesting stage 
pictures in trying to explain the dense and difficult text. 
Despite these worthy attempts, and the solid and comically 
disturbing performance by Mollie Cirino as Mummy, the presentation 
is unable to overcome the obscure classic symbols and some of the 
weaker performances. Rick Tobin, as the heroic and truth-seeking 
Student, tended to rush his presentation of some of the florid 
prose. As the Old Man, Sean Robbins' performance was sometimes 
engaging though often a bit too comic and overblown to bring out 
the basic sinister qualities of the rich-capitalist-with-a-chip-
on-his-shoulder. 
	Mr. Cirino's set and David Gonzales' lighting design also 
worked effectively, though in the end were not enough to help the 
audience wade through Strindberg's symbol-laden play. As a work to 
be studied in a university setting, "Ghost Sonata" is rich and 
multi-layered when given the time to translate it's many symbols. 
When produced, though, the show becomes disjointed and jumbled 
when not perfectly choreographed and layered out, a difficult task 
even for a professional theatre. Mr. Cirino's production is 
ultimately sabotaged at the source, and sunk by the very ethereal 
nature it attempts to portray.
	The weaker offering of the two, Christopher Haines directs 
Jean Genet's oppressively bleak, post-WWII prison drama 
"Deathwatch." The show, more realistic than the first play, is set 
in a French prison cell where three criminals of varying crimes 
battle each other for dominance, respect, position and control. It 
follows the mindgames of three men, one a murderer, one a burglar 
and the third a jewel thief, as they ally with one another as best 
suits their position, then betray their allies whenever it helps 
them to advance in the eyes of the other. 
	Mr. Haines directs them in a 12' x 10' space that adds to the 
claustrophobia and tension of the piece. Here, the damage is 
caused not by the over-wordy text, where long diatribes are 
punctuated by occasional action, but by the rushed and over-the-
top performances. Sean Robbins, as Lafranc, the common thief, is 
the only stable performer, giving a bit of subtlety and thought to 
a tenuous role. Jason Hooper's portrayal of the psycho-babbling 
psychotic murderer Green Eyes is much-too reminiscent of Brad Pitt 
in "12 Monkeys" to be a coincidence, and his arm-flailing and 
rolling eyes distract from the basic truths his character has to 
say. As the squirrelly weakling, Joseph Benesh was rushed and 
flat, playing his whininess more annoyingly than necessary. 
	Mr. Haines' set and lighting were exactly what was needed for 
the piece, though the stark lighting and set mixed with 
oppressively bleak text and the generally uneven performances had 
the unfortunate result of making the evening a torture not on 
those pacing the cell onstage, but to the audience forced to 
withstand the dark, forty-five minute barrage.
	PET's "Hall of Mirrors" is a valiant attempt at bringing 
normally unproduced theatre to the Valley of the Sun. While they 
have done this well in the past, this time they have come across 
examples of theatre that defy their abilities of staging.

Production Details:
Ghost Sonata by August Strindberg and Deathwatch by Jean Genet
Planet Earth Theatre, Phoenix
241-1828
February 16-March 16, 1996
$7 Student/Senior-$9 General

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