Theater Work's Rope
(out of 
)Mark S.P. Turvin
(home office) (602) 912-0117
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@goldfishpublishers.com
(out of )When one mentions "Rope,"
the automatic response is to think
of the innovative Alfred Hitchcock movie, based on the sensational
1920's Leopold & Loeb murder case, which starred Jimmy Stewart
and was filmed in a way to seem as though everything was taking
place
in real time.
Before the film, though, was the
play version, written by
Patrick Hamilton. The original case took place in Chicago,
Hitchcock's film was set in New York City, but Mr. Hamilton moved
his play to his hometown of London. The play revolves around two
brilliant, bored millionaires' sons who strangle a fellow
classmate for the thrill of it, then invite the victim's father
and some of their friends to a party in the same room where the
corpse has been hidden. Despite their seeming perfect handling
of
the crime, their plans begin to unravel, and the play becomes
a
cat-and-mouse game with a major dash of philosophical and moral
debate thrown in. The script does have a tendency to move rather
slowly, and there is a lot more mental action than physical, but
when done exceptionally well, the play can be an interesting
evening of theatre. Unfortunately, the current TheatreWorks'
production, directed by Wanda McHatton, is sabotaged by the
script, sinking into the morass of inaction and longwinded debate,
and is never able to rise above it.
At the center of the play are the
two brilliant murderers,
played by Scott Van de Mark and Beau Heckman. Mr. Van de Mark
is
coldly efficient and emotionless, but his character starts to
become too one-note until the last five minutes of the play.
Granted, this is probably the fault of the script, but Mr. Van
de
Mark could have tried something to give more gradations to his
portrayal. Mr. Heckman's character begins to unravel as their
plans collapse, but he tips his hand too soon and has little room
to spiral downward as the play progresses.
In his role as the equally brilliant
Rupert Cadell, a poet
who inadvertently becomes the makeshift detective and reluctant
judge, R.K. Stevens gives the most solid of the performances,
though even he is unable to stop the script's slip into mundane
philosophical haranguing that accompanies the denouement. The
rest of the cast gives acceptable performances in their smaller
roles,
with a bit more notice given to Kevin Cleere as the rather simple,
likable friend. The biggest criticism for all of the cast, besides
the low energy and the times of stilted dialogue is the blatant
inconsistency of accents, which appear and disappear with alarming
frequency.
Gregory Jaye's set and David Wo's
lighting design appeared at
the start to be solid, and even impressive, but there were so
many technical problems--doors that fall off their tracks, lights
that
took several seconds to turn on and off after actors hit switches
and at times turned on and off without a cue, that by the end
of
the evening, the biggest running joke for the audience had nothing
to do with the script, but with which actor was going to have
to
deal with another technical hitch. Again, Margret Emerson's
costume design was perfect within the period of the script, but
once again the shoe choices were wildly inaccurate, and one
actors' shoes even looked like they should have been paired with
a 70's leisure suit.
This seems to be another time when
a theatre company's
efforts have been sabotaged by their source material, although
lackluster performances and other problems helped to sink the
show a bit faster than it would otherwise have done.
As a side note, in reference to Robrt
Pela's October 17th
article slamming the choices for seasons by theatre companies,
most notably TheatreWorks for their lack of innovative choices
since moving to within shouting distance of Sun City, I was
treated after the show with a confrontation between an elderly
patron and an usher. The patron vehemently pointed out that she
felt the acting was good, but the subject matter was totally
inappropriate, and that her husband walked out just after the
show started when it was established that the play was about a
murder.
She wanted David Wo to know her opinion. All I can say is, despite
sacrificing such innovation which brought "Assassins"
to the stage for a season that includes such "cash-cows"
as "Steel Magnolias"
and "Hello Dolly!," the local gentry is still not happy.
It is
precisely for this reason that, despite higher costs during their
temporary stay at this location, they should have stuck with what
they've done well, since their pandering still brings complaints
about material from their neighbors.
Production Details:
"Rope" by Patrick Hamilton
TheatreWorks, Peoria
815-7930
October 18th-November 10th, 1996