Reviewed by Neal Weaver
The Renegade Theatre
Through May 17
RECOMMENDED
The published text of Tennessee Williams’ play is rife with stage directions insisting that it’s not a realistic play, but its production history suggests that Williams didn’t trust his own creation. When it’s performed with honesty and simplicity, as it is here, debates about realism vs. memory seem merely academic.
Director Wilson Better had the good sense to let Williams’S words speak for themselves, and he has cast it with tact and fidelity. Katherine Cortez as matriarch Amanda serves as a lynchpin to hold the play together. She reveals an innate understanding of Williams’ language, savoring and reveling in the words. And she never lets us forget that, no matter how unreal her expectations, and her refusal to face reality, or however exasperating she may be with her determined optimism, and her cries of “Rise and shine!”, she’s always a gallant figure, driven by love for her children and a desperate determination to insure their future.
Amanda Correia, as her physically handicapped, pathologically shy daughter Laura, is so self-effacing that she almost disappears in the early scenes, but her approach pays off in the end. When the Gentleman Caller’s attentions inspire a flicker of hope in her meager existence, she becomes a touching figure, and when those hopes are dashed, it’s shattering.
When the long anticipated Gentleman Caller (Jeff Berg) finally arrives, he’s mercifully unaware of the burden of hopes and expectations he carries, but once he realizes what was expected of him, he can only beat a hasty retreat, dimly aware of the havoc he has unwittingly caused. But he’s not simply a catalyst: he’s an individual in his own right, cherishing the memories of his glory days as a high school hero, just as Amanda clings to the memories of her 17 gentleman callers. But he has a brash, engaging belief in his own future that allows him to escape relatively unscathed. Berg captures his well-meaning diffidence, his genuine affection for Laura, and his regret at having unwittingly disappointed their expectations.
Better also plays the difficult role of the actor-director, unassisted by any outside eye. His performance is straightforward, honest, and faithful, but he never achieves the edge of defiance and determination that would make him a proper foil for Cortez’s dynamic Amanda.
His is a modest and simple production, but a faithful one that captures the longing and elegiac spirit of Williams’s play, which has reached the venerable age of 76 without loss of relevance.
The Renegade Theatre, 1514 N. Gardner Street, Hlywd.; Thurs., 8 pm., Sun., 6 p.m.; thru May 17. (323) 874-1733 or https://renegadegm.eventbrite.com/.
