Tom Leveen, Artistic Director of the small-but-dedicated Is What It Is Theatre, keeps his theatre company running despite the odds against Little Theatres in Phoenix. This summer, he has directed A.R. Gurney's cute, self-referential work, What I Did Last Summer, a coming of age story set in 1945 Canada. While this production sometimes suffers from small theatre-itis, especially in it's technical offerings, there is also some serious work going on between actors and director that makes for an interesting late-summer production.
Charlie is fourteen and chafing at the bit to find himself. He and his mother Grace and restless older sister Elsie are summering in a cabin on the Canadian shore of Lake Erie at the close of WWII. His father is fighting in the Pacific, and he is beginning to rebel against his situation. It is during this agitated time that he meets Anna Trumball, an outcast known in this province as The Pig Woman. Anna is a counter-culture radically free-thinker, and a teacher/muse by whom he is employed. In exchange for his work, she begins to help him discover his artistic drives and "potential." This situation leads to a clash between Grace and Anna, and establishes the tone of his summer with his summertime friends Ted and Bonny.
Several actors are familiar faces to those who frequent Tempe Little Theatre's productions, and here, they are well-cast by Mr. Leveen. While the pacing and delivery feels a bit rushed, especially at the start, the frenetic energy that explodes at the beginning of the show establishes its justification as Brian Ronalds, playing the searching Charlie, and Drew Riley, cast as the didactic Anna, form their bond. Mr. Ronalds and Mr. Leveen make some interesting choices in allowing the older actor to play the role of a prepubescent. Mr. Ronalds' vocal qualities are accurately squeaky, while his awkward energy is that of one going through adolescence. To the opposite extreme is Jason Walters as Charlie's Canuck-townie friend, Ted. Mr. Walters plays the 16 year-old with a consistently over-the-top exuberance that seems to be too much until his monologue explanation to the audience that explains this lusty choice. Ms. Riley, on the other hand, plays her bombastic role with little change in level until the very end. Mr. Leveen has Ms. Riley, who is too young for her role, speak with a haughty tone and in a style that does little to support her hermit status. Anna seems less gruff than bemused with the society she has left behind, making it difficult to believe this woman could have become such a personage of scorn and derision in town.
The choices made by Mr. Leveen and Emily Mulligan-Ferry, playing the role of Charlie's embattled mother Grace, aren't as clear as those for Charlie and Ted. Ms. Mulligan-Ferry is also too young for the role, and lacks some of the polish and refinement called for by the character. Even with this, Ms. Mulligan-Ferry's Grace grows on the audience during the evening through her earnestness and consistency of character. Allison Burrell plays sister Elsie cutely and smartly, though her ultimate raison d'etre for existing in the play, partially through fault of the author, is never made as clear as the others. A solid performance comes from Michelle B. Campbell as Charlie's friend, Bonny. Ms. Campbell sometimes rushes through her dialogue and glosses over her motivations, but still delivers the goods during the climax of the play.
Michael Peck's Scenic Design is clever, especially his choice for the unfinished painting by the side of the house that represents the outside world. Lisa Arneth's Sound Design is successful, though Jeff Scrugg's lighting is less so, as can only be expected in such a small, hard-to-work-with space. There are moments when the actors are in shadow, as the division between brighter-lit town and green-lit woods by Anna's cottage make playing spaces very tight and specific. The biggest design flaws are in the unbilled costuming, which never acknowledge the era of the piece, and Jason Walters' props, which are also nowhere near era. It is Mr. Walter's responsibility to take note of such basic things as the removal of a UPC sticker from the side of a rather modern cardboard box containing Ted's comic books. These are the perils, though, of little theaters and littler budgets.
Mr. Leveen has brought together a generally effective cast and made some interesting choices for a cute and enjoyable script. Such a workshop-style piece is bound to run into troubles when dealing with design elements, though there are some things that work better than others. The end result makes for a pleasant and worthwhile evening of theatre.
Production Details:
What I Did Last Summer by A.R. Gurney, Jr.
Is What It Is Theatre
Studio One Performing Arts Center, Phoenix (For a
map to location, click this
link)
(480) 994-9495
August 17th - September 1st, 2001