Under Milk Wood

Reviewed by Terry Morgan
Open Fist Theatre Company
Through August 25

RECOMMENDED

If one were to attempt to find a work comparable to Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood, it would likely be Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Both plays deal with the mundane and the sacred, and both delve into the complexities of small communities. But whereas Our Town deals with the span of a life, Under Milk Wood is limited to a single day. It’s a richly comedic, lyrical piece, and Open Fist Theatre Company’s new production is accomplished and delightful.

In the seaside Welsh town of Llareggub, the day begins with Reverend Eli Jenkins (Paul Myrvold) reciting a prayer celebrating his beloved home. Elderly Mary-Ann Sailors (Katherine Griffith) greets another day of life with grateful joy. Blind Captain Cat (Bruce A. Dickinson) sits and listens to the voices of the people, while poor Polly Garter (Gina Manziello) feeds her infant and mourns a dead lover. Mr. Pugh (Richard Abraham) fantasizes about killing his wife, the formidable Mrs. Pugh (Carol Kline), while young Gwennie (Jade Santana) pressures the boys into kissing her. And at night the local lothario, Mr. Waldo (Bryan Bertone), returns to a place of childish innocence.

It’s a rare pleasure to see an ensemble of eighteen actors in a small theatre production in these post-waiver days. Myrvold performs the reverend’s poetic prayers beautifully, while Dickinson brings dignity to the captain’s puzzled ponderings. Griffith is excellent both as the happy Mary-Ann and as a briskly condescending tour guide. Abraham (nicely ghoulish as Mr. Pugh), and Kline (grimly ferocious as Mrs. Pugh) make a terrific comedic pair, and Bertone is deadpan funny as the local butcher claiming to be serving the locals cat, mole and corgi meat. Santana is amusing as the mercenary Gwennie, and Manziello reveals a lovely singing voice as the tragic Polly.

Director Ben Martin accomplishes admirable and creative work with his ensemble, whether he’s using them all to represent the moving waves in an oceanic storm or employing them as a series of bubbling tea kettles percolating in a row. His staging of the “chimbley-sweep” song, which sends the cast up into the audience, is lively and fun, ending with the memorable sight of one actor supposedly passed out drunk in the center aisle.

It’s unsurprising that Thomas’s play is full of gorgeous writing (now I finally know where that King Crimson album title Starless and Bible Black comes from) — but its blunt humor and frank sexuality are unexpected.

On opening weekend, some of the actors were still struggling with a few of their lines, but overall this is a strong show and should only get better as the production continues. Anybody who appreciates the magic of actors and a writer creating a world on a mostly bare stage, and anybody with a love for the well-wrought written word should attend this ambitious and heartfelt production.

Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Aug. 25. www.openfist.org. Running time: approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.