Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music, dance, comedy and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information.
Stage Notes Calendar
Opening this week:
Amphibian Stage: Bull in a China Shop, opened Wednesday-March 1.
Cara Mia: Medea/Liturgia, Feb. 12-22 at Latino Cultural Center.
Soul Rep Theatre: Gem of the Ocean, Feb. 12-22.
Undermain Theatre: The Skin of Our Teeth, Feb. 12-March 8, pictured.
Garland Symphony Orchestra: Michelle Campos, harpist, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Granville Arts Center.
Over the Bridge Arts: Messy Love, Feb. 13 and 14 at Oak Cliff Cultural Center.
Repertory Company Theatre: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Feb. 13-15 at Cox Playhouse.
Runway Theatre: Love Letters, Feb. 13-15.
Community of Rowlett Players (CORP): The Musical of Musicals, Feb. 13-22.
Lakeside Community Theatre: August: Osage Country, Feb. 13-28.
Art Centre Theatre: Suite Surrender, Feb. 13-March 1.
Kitchen Dog Theater: POMPEII!!, Feb. 13-March 1.
Theatre Arlington: Damn Yankees, Feb. 13-March 1.
Theatre Frisco: Working: A Musical, Feb. 13-March 1.
Allegro Guitar Society: Beijing Duo, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Irving Symphony Orchestra: What the Heart Wants/Music from the Heart, Feb. 14.
Avant Chamber Ballet: Rhythm and Romance, Feb. 14 and 15 at Moody Performance Hall.
Allegro Guitar Society: Beijing Duo, 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15 at University Christian Church.
FWSO Chamber Series: Beethoven, Schumann, and Ligeti, 3 p.m. Feb. 15 at Kimbell Art Museum.
Broadway Dallas: The Great Gatsby, Feb. 17-March 1 at the Music Hall at Fair Park.
Onstage now:
The Dallas Opera: The Little Prince, through Saturday.
Broadway at the Bass: Six, through Sunday.
Art Centre Theatre: The Vagina Monologues, through Feb. 21.
Lewisville Playhouse: Ordinary People, through Feb. 22.
Lyric Stage: Little Women, through Feb. 22, pictured.
Onstage in Bedford: Greater Tuna, through Feb. 22.
Stolen Shakespeare Guild: Sense and Sensibility, through Feb. 22.
Theatre Coppell: The Fantasticks, through Feb. 22.
Review: Lewisville Playhouse’s ‘Ordinary People’ suffers under its own weight
A young death in the Jarrett family is the cause for all its strife and turmoil. Based on the novel by Judith Guest, Nancy Pahl-Gilsenan’s 1983 adaptation of Ordinary People is somewhat more faithful to the book than the 1980 movie. Ironically, that seems to work less in its favor at Lewisville Playhouse. The theater opened the show last weekend and while filled with high drama, Ordinary People felt empty.
Centered on the Jarrett family, the teenage son Conrad has attempted suicide in the wake of his brother’s death. His father Cal tries to maintain balance while Beth has lost her maternal and spousal interest. Grief is a heavy cloud over them all. Conrad does have help through his mandated therapist Doctor Berger which does point to a way out.
For those familiar with the film, the stage version puts its core in Conrad’s story as he struggles to head back to school, rejoin the swim team while struggling through his interpersonal relationships with his parents, a new love interest and his best friend. Andrew Cave performed all the levels of teen angst well. He managed to express many levels of depth from sulky to antagonistic and nicely shed away the character’s darkness as he works it out through therapy.
Robert San Juan was a towering presence who effectively conveyed Cal ineffectiveness as the patriarch. Cal is flawed with weakness and willingness to please everyone and San Juan’s performance balanced the character’s good intentions well with his fumbling attempts to be both a father and husband.
As Doctor Berger, Danny Macchietto delivered a warm and nuanced performance, demonstrating enough impartiality mixed with a distinct tenderness toward both Conrad and Cal.
Wendy Barrett brought a stoic intensity to the deeply affected Beth. However, she was given very little to work with. Beth, the grieving mother, should seemingly have had the most dramatic depth, but the character ultimately felt paper-thin due to the dialogue. Despite this stifled role, Barrett successfully captured Beth’s fluctuating moods.
The production of Ordinary People, efficiently directed by Kristal Seid, was ultimately weakened by an unclear narrative and poorly developed characters. While the cast delivered impassioned performances under Seid, the show suffered from a clunky story that failed to capitalize on the inherent drama and didn’t feed into much chemistry. Pahl-Gilsenan seemed to find the emotional moments of yelling and crying, then wrote around those.
Technically, the show did succeed. Cody Thomas’ set was certainly a saving point. Three cleverly constructed zones depicted the home, school and doctor’s office. With Shaun Senter’s lighting, each vignette held strong focus. Zachary Cantrell’s sound was ideal for each actor and Toni Thomas expressed a clever eye as props designer.
The show runs through Feb. 22.
–Rich Lopez