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Sacrifice To Eros
By Amanda Cooper
In my experience, theatrical parables are very tough to pull off, and rarely work. Sacrifice To Eros, categorized as a "modern parable" is no exception.
The play takes place in 1934 during the depression, which becomes the foundation for this story. The Westfield family is currently forced to work harder and longer in order to just survive. As the father is on his deathbed, the family hopes that the long-lost (i.e. Prodigal) son Jesse will come home to say goodbye and receive his inherited half of the farm. As brother Cliff and his wife Rita wait with Papa Westfield, we also meet Cliff's childhood friend Tom, who has taken an interest in Jesse since before he ran off to "the big city" (in this case, Chicago). The family is rounded out by Edna, Papa Westfield's crazy sister.
Edna, who serves as the play's narrator, turns out to be the most dynamic character of the bunch; that's ignoring the first abstract scene (in which she holds one of her Pagan-like rituals and her brother moans for his son through a screen). She becomes simultaneously the most odd, most comprehensive and most understandable character. Even Pamela Dunlap's honest and a straightforward take on Edna's (in)sanity, however, cannot even save the production.
Papa Westfield, played by Jaime Sanchez does a fine job, but the role does not provide much depth, so we don't see much breadth. Maria Helan Checa as Rita is consistently hard hitting with her lines and movements, bringing a rigidity to the role which makes it hard to believe that she was ever a waitress who slept with anyone and everyone. Don Clark Williams as Cliff adds an appealing sweetness and morality to this plain, martyr-like role.
As the play progresses Jesse shows up. He is a constant ball of anxiety. He wants to come and then run in the same day, and see as few people as possible. Cesar Samayoa is Jesse, and the amount of stress that the plot progression causes for him is perplexing. Though all starts to become a bit clearer when Tom shows up and we learn that he and Jesse's one-night stand was the prologue to Jesse's running away. Eric Jordan Young as Tom starts out as endearing, but his one-pitch voice and repetitive emoting becomes grating.
Frederick Timm's writing is melodramatic. The stylized, yet representational qualities of the script clash, and as a result the actions and events end up feeling more inconsequential than they should be. Mark Parees as the director gave us some dramatically tense moments, but the overall pacing feels slow and forced. Some specific production choices got in the way of the story, particularly the decision to do color-blind casting. As this show was done in a relatively straightforward manner, it left me wondering why they would choose to have a racially mixed cast for a Depression era, Midwestern drama. A quote from the program states "with a multi-ethnic cast to underscore the plight of the outcast" but, unfortunately, if that is the goal, it most certainly isn't reached.
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Sacrifice To Eros
Written by Frederick Timm Directed by Marc Parees Cast: Maria Helan Checa, Pamela Dunlap, Cesar Samayoa, Jaime Sanchez, Eric Jordan Young and Don Clark Williams. Set Design: Sean Richards Lighting Design: Kevin Higinbotham Running Time 2 hours 10 minutes, including a 15 minute intermission The Pantheon Theater, 303 West 42nd Street, 2nd floor (between 8th and 9th ave). October 10 - December 14th; opening October 22nd Tuesday - Satruday at 8:00PM, Saturday - Sunday matinee at 2:00PM Tickets are $40 Reviewed by Amanda Cooper based on Oct 21st performance |
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