Cast of `Marvin's Room' proves that age is irrelevant
Often times, such situations are much more easily handled if dealt with more lightly. Marvin's Room by Scott McPherson is a play that centers on this idea. It is not often that a show about a terminally ill woman, a mental institution patient, a dying old man, a nearly crippled old woman and a young mother who has lost touch with her children can be so much fun. But, the Rice Players' first show of the `95-'96 season is definitely that: fun.
The play tells the story of a fragmented family in the midst of more problems than you can lump on a psychiatrist's clipboard. The main character, Bessie, is a middle aged woman who has spent her life caring for others, mainly her elderly and sickly father and aunt. When she receives news that she, too, is sick and needs care, she contacts the rest of the family. Enter her estranged sister and her two nephews, neither of whom she has ever seen. While this family picture might not look right hanging next to the Cleavers or Bradys, a certain offbeat warmth surrounds this unlikely group of people. Fun show or no, some important and compelling issues are dealt with, not the least of which are love and understanding.
Once again, Rice Players has assembled a strong ensemble cast, with several strong newcomers, and some welcome old faithfuls. Leading the cast as Bessie is Rachael Gilg. Always a strong presence on stage, Gilg fills the character of Bessie out with all the proper dimensions of strength, warmth, fear and confusion necessary to gain the audience's sympathy. Her past appearances on the Rice stage have been commanding and interesting characters, and this is no exception. Because of her strong presence, her weakest moments as an actress tend to coincide with the weakest moments of the character. Weakness and confusion sometimes appear to be things Gilg is not accustomed to dealing with. And although there are occassions when her naturally strong and fluent stage voice don't work as well for a blue-collar woman, her overall performance is well- crafted.
Another strong veteran is Michael Kass as Hank, a young man dealing with emotional confusion and abandonment. In his second year on the Rice stage, Kass continues to grow as a deeply emotional performer. More than any other character in the show, I could truly feel Hank's confusion and pride battling with one another. Kass has a wonderful way of pulling the audience into his corner and making his character come to life. More than any other cast member, Kass's performance is strong and consistent.
Courtney Kneupper, as Hank's mother and Bessie's sister Lee, is by far the most convincing of the characters when it comes to playing blue collar. The delivery and walk paint a clear picture of trailer parks and cheap canned beer. Kneupper truly lets her hair down, so to speak, and becomes Midwestern white trash before our eyes. However, even this character has her deeply emotional moments. In particular, a late night chat between the recently united sisters is quite touching and very real. Occassional weak moments derive from Kneupper's young voice and physicality, which don't allways suit the mother of a 17-year- old. But, in some ways, this works toward further illustrating Lee's shortcomings as a parent.
One of the most pleasant surprises of this production was freshman Amanda Allison as Ruth, Bessie's 70- year-old aunt. One of the biggest problems with college productions is making a group of actors with usually no more than a four-year range in age fit all the age roles of a show. In particular, elderly characters tend to come across as college kids in grey makeup. Allison, however, has perfected a posture and walk that made me almost forget she was years younger than I am. She also breathes into the character of Ruth a wonderful eccentricity that works marvelously for the character. She is definitely a face to watch out for in the Rice theater scene.
Ricardo Montez and Danielle Segall, as the show's medical staff, experience a few of the age problems one might expect of college students playing doctors. But both perform strongly within those parameters and add wonderful life to their scenes. Like Ruth, the role of Charlie, Hank's younger brother, could have presented an age problem because he is so young. But Jeff Hernandez handles the role very well, and has some terribly adorable moments playing the shy preteen. Marla Smith and Ahmad Hernandez round out the cast in supporting roles. Both actors use their relatively small roles very efficiently, not allowing themselves to disappear into the woodwork. Hernandez in particular grabs a few small, but shining, moments with his montage of bit parts.
It is much harder to comment on the technical aspects of the show, because I attended a rehearsal, not a performance. However, particular mention must go to the design staff of this show. Cindy Farrar has assembled a wonderful group of costumes that aid the actors well in becoming blue collar. Although the set wasn't yet completed, Jeremy Gibson has blended some interesting elements of texture and color, and the final product should be quite impressive. As always, Marc Stubblefield has done a wonderful job of bringing different moods and settings with just the flick of a light switch, and in particular, the nightime lighting on this one works outstandingly well.
By the time this show opens, the obvious hard work of both cast and crew should have paid off well. This show is a definite keeper, and worth the time and effort of a viewing. Kudos to the Players on a strong season opener.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the September 29, 1995 issue.
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