title>Cecilia's Last Tea Party, a CurtainUp New Jersey review CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH


REVIEWS

REVIEW ARCHIVES

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

On TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us

A CurtainUp New Jersey Review
Cecilia's Last Tea Party


I have a secret to tell. A secret in my pocket. — Colonel Billy Krakatoa
Oh? — Cecilia
Yes, I have a ticket. I am told it is for heaven. Can you imagine such a ticket? On one side is a ticket to heaven. It can be signed for you on that side. But on the other side, I'm afraid, it could be a ticket probably to hell.
— Krakatoa

Nitya Vidyasagar
(Photo: Cie Stroud)
Cecilia (Nitya Vidyasagar) is having a disturbing dream. Although the 12 year-old has the companionship of two stuffed toy animals — Dodo, a pelican and Dada, a tiger — she remains visibly upset that her bed is suddenly afloat on the ocean and the moon has appeared where the bedroom ceiling had been. Cecilia's dream is a recurring one in Russell Davis' eerily envisioned and psychologically mutable play set in a small nation on the Pacific rim of South Asia in the 1940s. A "Dark Shadow" (Indika Senanayake) stands nearby and speaks Cecilia's thoughts in her dream state, as well as being the voices of Dodo and Dada.

Cecilia is a bright, disarming child who has been placed in the care of a distant relative she calls Aunt Tambora (Amy Kim Waschke) by the newly entrenched governmental authority. It appears that Cecilia's parents have been taken abruptly from their home following a military coup. Aunt Tambora is a stern and unsympathetic woman who makes every effort, however, to be conciliatory in the presence of Colonel Billy Krakatoa (Robert Wu). Krakatoa is an officer who is proud to declare that "the British and the Dutch are no more. I'm in charge now. ," He has also begun to use the home as his own and engages Celia in odd testy conversations at the tea table that is set in the court yard in front of the family's white house (handsomely designed by Yoshi Tanokura). A cluster of tropical shrubs enhances the setting.

Although Krakatoa fails to engage the wary Cecilia, his presence and probing are less threatening than they are vaguely mysterious. Celia would prefer to converse with Dodo and Dada. Aunt Tambora finds the toys generally unnerving and would like nothing better than to see them disposed of. A scene in which Cecilia reads to herself stories from the Bible and proceeds to question their historical accuracy is a curious element in the play and one that I failed to grasp. The topical subtext of the play, in which we see how this child protects herself emotionally and in reality in the wake of political turmoil is clear enough.

As Cecilia, Vidyasager's large dark eyes speak reams. Waschke is excellent as the distant relative who takes her mind off the troubles surrounding the family by doing jigsaw puzzles. Senanayake is also very fine as the specifically peripheral Dark Shadow. The climactic moments of the play include an apparently happy resolve of Cecilia's anxieties. We are also treated to an unexpected transformation of the toys. This is reflected in a lovely dance with brightly colored ribbons performed by Cecilia and the Dark Shadow.

Watching Davis' play, now having its world premiere by Trenton's Passage Theatre Company, I was reminded of the opening scene in A Seagull in the Hamptons (Emily Mann's complete re-write of Chekhov's The Seagull) now at the McCarter Theater Center. In Seagull, the young aspiring writer presents a play before his family that is too abstract and untraditional in form for them to fully appreciate. Davis' play is also far from traditional. But it is also hypnotic, and like the snippet from Chekhov's young writer casts a unique spell of its own. Dennis Parichy's atmospheric lighting goes a long way to cast the right shadows. One does not necessary insist on a play such as this being completely accessible. Whatever it is, I'm still thinking about it. Hopefully future audiences will also find something to think about.

Cecilia's Last Tea Party By Russell Davis Directed by Will Pomerantz

Cast: Indika Senanayake, Nitya Vidyasagar, Amy Kim Waschke, Robert Wu.
  Set Design: Yoshi Tanokura
  Lighting Design: Dennis Parichy
  Costume Design: Dane Laffrey
  Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes no intermission
  Passage Theater, Mill Hilll Playhouse, Front and Montgomery Streets, Trenton, NJ. (609) 392 – 0766
  Tickets ($25)
  Performances through 06/01/08
  Thursday – Friday 8 PM; Saturday 2, 8 PM; Sunday 3
  Reviewed by Simon Saltzman based on performance 05/10/08
REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
  • I agree with the review of Cecilia's Last Tea Party
  • I disagree with the review of Cecilia's Last Tea Party
  • The review made me eager to see Cecilia's Last Tea Party
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email.

Google
Web    
www.curtainup.com
Try onlineseats.com for great seats to
Wicked
Jersey Boys
The Little Mermaid
Lion King
Shrek The Musical





The  Playbill Broadway YearBook
The Playbill Broadway YearBook


Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide


broadwaynewyork.com


The Broadway Theatre Archive>


amazon



©Copyright 2008, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com