Mass Appeal has it
Directed by Karen Case Cook
The Royal Theatre at The Producers’ Club
358 West 44th Street, New York City
December 5th – 10th, 2000
Equity Showcase (closed)
Produced by Dave McCracken and DJM Productions WWW.DJMProductions.net
Father Tim Farley……..Howard Thoresen*
Mark Dolson……………Chris Arruda
Assistant Director………Adam Michenner
Technical Director………Anne Marie Higgins
Light Design……………..Louis Lopardi
Set/Costume Design……Dave McCracken, Karen Case Cook, Bill C. Davis, Randall O’Neill, and DJM Prods. Technical Dept.
Review by Alyn Hunter . . 12/10/2000
Director Karen Case Cook and Producer Dave McCracken have successfully revived Bill C. Davis’ play about two Catholic priests in conflict, Mass Appeal. Though the subject matter has dulled in emotional impact in the 20 years since its first production it still possesses enough poignancy to hold audience interest and spark discussion. The directing and acting move this piece swiftly and seamlessly from drama through tragedy to comedy.
The overlay of the play is the conflict and growing friendship between two men. One, father Tim Farley, with give-‘em-what-they-wanna-hear inanity, is a well-entrenched older priest. He’s comfortable in his soft, please-everyone attitude. The other, Mark Dolson, is a young seminarian with pugilistic fervor and idealistic, 2,000-years-out-of-vogue original Christian beliefs, whom Farley takes into his parish as a new deacon. He’s full of anger and wants to change the world. At a deeper level Dolson believes that the ultimate goal of the church is obsolescence. He despises those he wishes to minister to, believing they are weak and lost in materialism at the cost of their souls. Farley knows instinctively, if not consciously, that the true purpose of his own position (if not his church) is perpetuation. The real struggle, however, lies beneath the surface. Mundane personality conflicts are not the issue. Individual priests may thrive on ministering to souls in need. But the real adversary is the ages-old power structure of the church itself - personified by the unseen Monsignor. Status quo, hidden immorality, and the molding of the congregation’s belief system around the Grand Ol’ Priesthood are all at the center of the true conflict.
Karen Case Cook shows her grasp of the script and understanding of her actors by keeping the interplay between the characters as crisp as the dialogue. Before subtext can rise to the surface in the emptiness of the so-often-abused dramatic pause she impels her actors to maintain a sparkling rhythm, carrying the audience forward. Not one moment passes in which I’m not interested in the on-going exchange between the actors. From a moment of transition near the end of the second act (that begins in Farley’s chambers and evolves into a heart-felt sermon to the congregation) through to the final blackout, the audience is dead silent and unmoving, totally immersed in the final moments. This is high praise for the director, indeed. On the other hand, the blocking is uneven. For example when Farley and Dolson are separated by the stage, the space between them is electrified. At other moments I found myself wishing the older priest hadn’t just danced over to the new deacon or that their upstage and downstage positions were reversed to increase the impact of a line.
The casting was well done. Howard Thoresen, as the ensconced parish priest, did a fine job, though he took it almost too far in his inebriated moments. Beyond these few instances of overacting, he brought Father Farley to life. Thoresen demonstrates his skill by adding interpretive and physical dimension to Farley not evident in the words, despite the character itself being written a bit stereotypical and two-dimensional. Chris Arruda, as the offensive seminarian, delivers a very even, strong performance. One of the few exceptions I take with Cook’s direction, however, is in allowing Arruda to shout when he peaks too soon, rather than adding to his depth. The intensity at which he entered the first scene left him little room to develop his primary trait: aggressiveness. Right out of the gate he was as passionate as he was ever going to get. Together, these actors meshed. They interacted. They were in perfect balance. They listened to each other. Overall, finely acted.
The set was sparse, forcing the audience to listen to the actors rather than wander visually. A single black office chair offset a crystal water goblet sitting atop an unobtrusive stand. Though I disagreed with the choice of chair - chosen for its wheels and one specific hydraulic sight gag - the overall impact of the set was strong. A deliberate decision based partly on an OOB budget, to be sure, but nevertheless the minimalism proved very effective.
Louis Lopardi’s use of the household track lighting which the Producers’ Club tries to pawn off on the paying public as proper theatre lighting was a study in skill and imagination. Coupled with Anne Marie Higgins’ pleasing music and sound design and flawless execution a professional tone was created to frame the performance.
I take exception to one thing: The box office was located in a smoke-filled bar. To me this was inappropriate. Asthmatics, children, and AA members all go to the theatre. Though I am none of the above, my 9-year-old son, Matthew, came with me and I was uncomfortable about taking him through it to pick up the tickets. (He did, however, provide an excellent gauge on the, ahem, mass appeal of the production. He found it enthralling. He stayed focused on the dialogue and was able to discuss the performances and issues raised by the two characters with me over nachos when we left the theatre.)
The director, producer, actors and crew all deserve a larger, better-equipped space for this well-executed offering.
On our scale of 0 to 3 stars I give this production of Mass Appeal overall 2 stars. Solid theatre.
| Writing | |
| Directing | |
| Acting | |
| Costume design | |
| Set design | |
| Lighting design | |
| Sound design | |