Complex `Travesties' handled well by cast

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RATING: * * *

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by Amy Hemphill

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The plot of Travesties centers on the memories of Henry Carr (Martin Holt). He is an old man who reminisces about Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I in 1917. The characters who float through his mind include the great Irish author James Joyce (Reed Oliver), Tristan Tzara (the father of the Dada movement, played by Aaron Pierce) and Vladimir Lenin (Rodrigo Sanders). It was a time of artistic and social revolution, and these men were at the heart of it. The dialogue is rife with their ideas and philosophies, as well as conversations that show the contrasts between them.

The unfortunate thing about all the philosophy flying around at such a high speed is the necessity of understanding the references -- in fact, there are a few times that the actors do not understand all the references either. This makes it difficult to understand the plot.

One obstacle that mars the play is the huge number of accents required: The play calls for Romanian, Russian, Irish and British accents, which are at best inconsistent. This would be expected for any but the most experienced professional company.

With all that to deal with, the cast does a commendable job of plowing through this script. There are moments where the weighty task at hand gives the actors sufficient trouble to slow the play down, but they are punctuated with some extremely entertaining moments. All of the actors suffer from speedy delivery and diction problems, but this is mostly because the language of the play requires precise voices in order to keep it clear.

Since it is Carr's memories that we are seeing here, rather than direct events, the actions often stop and start, repeating moments over and over with small differences. Maintaining a strong character under these circumstances is a difficult task, and Holt does a good job. He uses seperate voices for the two, and the difference between the reality of Henry Carr and how he remembers himself allows for some interesting character development.

Holt, more than any other actor, suffers from the weight of his dialogue. His delivery is often too fast for the audience to absorb all he is saying. But his character is strong and vibrant.

Pierce, suffering under the Romanian accent, is wonderful as Tristan Tzara. His grasp of the ideas of his character was the strongest in the show, and this became one of the most easily understood characters. Even with the too-rapid delivery, the Dada ideas are clear. Pierce possesses the most inexaustible supply of energy I've ever seen on stage. The energy that made him an active performer in last year's Company of Wayward Saints is successfully rechannelled to intellectual energy for this role.

The characters of James Joyce and Lenin are less clear. Both have less time on stage to expound upon their ideas, , but both actors work hard and their acting talent shines through the complicated script.

Like many Stoppard plays, the female characters do not have as much to do as the males. Jen Tucker as Gwendolen Carr and Noelle Berryman as Nadya perform with strength and confidence. They are putting these talents to use on less complex roles than the rest of the cast. Because of the script, their characters tend to get lost in the scenes.

One of the show's delights is Brian Huffines as Carr's butler. He has political opinions of his own and thus is not your typical deferential butler, but he's willing to let his opinions slide, given sufficient access to the champagne supply.

If Gilbert and Sullivan is as deep as you go, this play is not for you. But for anyone willing to get their gray matter chugging, this play is a delicious piece of entertainment.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the October 27, 1995 issue.

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