Westchester's Most Influential Weekly - WestchesterGuardian.com

Page 4 The Westchester Guardian THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2010EYE ON THEATRETHURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010Rosmersholm, Haunted, and That Time of the YearContinued from page 3a sensitive soul crushed by overwhelmingguilt feelings, whether or not deserved.He gives good despair.Rebecca West, who became a symbolof and inspiration to feminism—aneminent British writer assumed RebeccaWest as her pen name—is vividlyportrayed by Margot White, who, evenbanking her fire, conveys the arduous selfcontrolin tormented facial play. But hereruptions, when they come, are volcanicand her very love is lava.Austin Pendleton is a both dignifiedand demonic Dr. Kroll—I only wish hisaffluence were not restricted to a singlecostume over several days. He wields hisrhetoric as forcefully as he brandisheshis silver-tipped cane, and is unsettlingeven in his silences. Dominic Cuskern’sMortengaard aptly balances a slick façadewith inner sleaze, and Dan Daily’s Brendelis indeed a former philosopher gone to fatand rags through drink and dissoluteness.As the superstitious housekeeperMrs. Helseth, who mutters about mythicalwhite horses portending doom,Robin Leslie Brown rounds out a fineMission Statementensemble cast. Henry Feiner’s set andNiki Hernandez-Adams’s costumes aremodestly satisfactory, though an abstractwash in the background does not quitesuggest the cold outside, even if adroitlylighted by Stephen Petrilli.Mike Poulton’s persuasive adaptationdoes not mitigate Ibsen’s gloomand doom, but instead of alienating theplay cannily suck us in. I still get pleasurableshivers thinking back on it.HauntedManchester England’s RoyalExchange Theatre, in association withKarl Sydow, presents Haunted, a playby the distinguished Irish fictionist andplaywright Edna O’Brien. The charactersare Jack Berry, an elderly unemployedgardening expert and scion of the hautebourgeoisie; his wife, Gladys, a factoryworker of blue-collar heritage, their solesupport; and Hazel, a young elocutionteacher who chances upon Mr. Berry inpursuit of a garment his wife may have forsale, as she tends to get rid of her usedclothing.The Westchester Guardian is a weekly newspaper devotedto the unbiased reporting of events and developmentsthat are newsworthy and significant to readers living in,and/or employed in, Westchester County. The Guardianwill strive to report fairly, and objectively, reliable informationwithout favor or compromise. Our first duty will beto the PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW, by the exposureof truth, without fear or hesitation, no matter where thepursuit may lead, in the finest tradition of FREEDOM OFTHE PRESS.The Guardian will cover news and events relevant toresidents and businesses all over Westchester County. As aweekly, rather than focusing on the immediacy of deliverymore associated with daily journals, we will instead seek toprovide the broader, more comprehensive, chronological step-by-step accountingof events, enlightened with analysis, where appropriate.From amongst journalism’s classic key-words: who, what, when, where,why, and how, the why and how will drive our pursuit. We will use our moreabundant time, and our resources, to get past the initial ‘spin’ and ‘damagecontrol’ often characteristic of immediate news releases, to reach the veryheart of the matter: the truth. We will take our readers to a point of understandingand insight which cannot be obtained elsewhere.To succeed, we must recognize from the outset that bigger is not necessarilybetter. And, furthermore, we will acknowledge that we cannot be allthings to all readers. We must carefully balance the presentation of relevant,hard-hitting, Westchester news and commentary, with features and columnsuseful in daily living and employment in, and around, the county. We muststay trim and flexible if we are to succeed.Out of this there emerges a case ofplatonic adultery, as Mr. Berry and Hazelget warmly but nonsexually involved, whatwith his pretending that his wife is deadand selling some of her clothes on the sly,so as to support unneeded elocution lessonsfrom Hazel. When Gladys discovers thetwo together, hell breaks loose.It is a well-written play that manages toinfuse a less than original story with vibrantnew life. O’Brien writes more or less realistically,but with some fetchingly idiosyncraticturns of phrase that inject poetry into theproceedings, as does Braham Murray’ssomewhat stylized staging.I usually question characters speakingdirectly to the audience, but when Mr.Berry acts as narrator, Ms. O’Brien hasgiven him such arresting words, and thecharismatic Niall Buggy takes us into hisconfidence so expertly in a high aristocraticaccent, that the device works wonders.Conversely, the renowned BrendaBlethyn (you’ve seen her in sundry films)affects a rollickingly lower-class accentto go with her cozily roly-poly figure ina performance bursting with puppy loveuntil it switches to wonderfully stingingacrimony.As Hazel, the appealing Beth Cookespeaks with an elocutionist’s crispnesswithout any class characteristics, andgives a charmingly naïve performancethat makes you root for her and Quincy(as Jack likes to be called) Berry.Constrictions of the small stagelimit the carousel scene to a long-visiblesuspended hobbyhorse making a briefdescent, but nothing else is shortchangedin a satisfyingly taut, steadily involvingtheatrical experience.That Time of YearThe White Plains Performing ArtsCenter is offering That Time of the Year,a Christmas and Hanukkah show withconcept and lyrics by Laurence Holzmanand Felicia Needleman, and music bySanford Marc Cohen, Nicholas Levin,Donald Oliver, Kyle Rosen, Brad Ross,Mark Wherry and Wendy Wilf.It is a user-friendly, unassuming showwith likable songs suitable for the entirehappy family and dedicatedly performedby five young enthusiasts: ZacharyClause, Leslie Henstock, Emily Jenda,Ryan Malyar and Hanley Smith.Not intended to set the world on fire,it nevertheless warms the heart with aptContinued on page 5