Dreams versus Roots
Reviewed
2/21/04
by Richard Warren
Directed by Daniel L. Schay
Canyon Moon Theatre Company, Sedona
(928) 282-6212
February 13th - 29th, 2004
$10.00 - $17.00
Richard Warren’s latest script, being given its world premiere in Sedona at the Canyon Moon Theatre Company, has a very strange message. Where most scripts champion dreams over inertia, In the Valley of the Sun gives an interesting spin on the idea of moving out, moving up, and moving on. Three best friends in Apache Junction have very different goals. Spirited Maria (Natalie Messersmith) wants to be a dancer, and believes that the only way to do so is to escape to Broadway. Her paramour, Steel (Natalie’s real-life hubby, Randy Messersmith), a true cowboy into rodeo and playing his guitar, would rather just settle down, ride bulls, and sing in a band close to home. The third of the trio is Trudy (Maureen Dias), a girl who just wants to ride her horse and become a teacher like her mom and grandmother were. One would expect that Maria would be the inspirational one who drives the play and their players toward success, but that’s not how Warren intends the evening to go. Director Daniel L. Schay takes this folksy tale and drives it forward slowly, drawlingly, letting the story that takes years to develop to move at the pace of a country ballad. This means there’s a lot of exposition, a nearly unwieldy amount, but when the action finally begins, the exposition pays off with the amount of tears you’d expect at the end of a country western tune.
Schay doesn’t do anything radical here. The stage pictures are basic and the blocking enough to keep this talky piece from settling and sagging. His biggest success is in casting the Messersmiths, two wonderful performers who have the type of connection onstage that Maria and Steel need for the playwright’s creation to payoff. It’s rare that these two share the stage, and that’s a shame. Natalie is full of energy and very casual in her performance. She doesn’t capture the energetic Maria, she simply is. Randy is more hesitant in playing the archetypal Steel. His bravado and accent are strong, but a bit forced. His strength comes from his connection to Natalie’s Maria, which is palpable. Dias’ Trudy is downplayed. She is a weaker presence, both in writing and in performance, but not enough to undercut the balance of the play’s awkward ménage a trois. Interloper Sporter, a souvenir of Maria’s move to New York, is a very stereotypical character, the street-smart New York wise guy. In Mike Levin’s hands, the character is amusing. The cameo appearance of Chloe Marcus is successfully portrayed.
The unbilled set design captures the growth of the Apache Junction trailer. Lyrica Tyree’s lighting is basic with some nice flourishes. Mary G. Guaraldi’s costumes are excellently indicative of character and situation.
Truthfully, I found myself strangely unmoved by the final scene, though the same cannot be said of the remainder of the audience, which included a lot of sniffles and tear-streamed faces. There isn’t a lot of subtlety in Warren’s script, but it does what it aims to do, which is to put into question the idea that you need to leave to succeed.
-30-