THEATRE REVIEW: Passionate tribute to a landmark lesbian kiss is a warning from history. AustinPlayhouse
), “a heart-stirring … reminder of … the power of art” , and “superbly realized” with “remarkable power” . The same can be said for Austin Playhouse’s current production under the thoughtful direction of Lara Toner Haddock and Lyn Koenning . Mike Toner’s minimalist scenic design, with its empty raised platform surrounded by assorted props and seated performers, is true to the original production and effectively evokes the time, temperament, and place of the play.
Great attention to detail can be found in the work of dramaturg Jennifer Sturley, down to the covering of actors’ tattoos, which would have been culturally inappropriate for Jews of that era and a trigger for Jews of a certain age in this one. The same goes for Diana Huckaby’s period-correct costuming and dialect coach Amanda Cooley Davis’ work with actors whose characters employ heavily accented, broken English when conversing with non-Yiddish speakers.
The show’s remarkable ensemble – Michael Ferstenfeld, Kathleen Fletcher, Babs George, Huck Huckaby, AJ Clauss, Sarah Fleming Walker, and Ben Wolfe – add layers of flesh to the individual personalities they are asked to inhabit and become a unified force in capturing the weight and somber undertone that dominate the script. They never lose sight of the painstaking humanity at the heart of each of the roles they bring to life.
Missing from their performances is the sense of joy that also surfaces upon occasion, a reflection of the characters’ powerful connections with each other and their heritage amidst the travesties they experience. Its rarity requires greater attention in the klezmer tunes played by Noel Esquivel Jr. on clarinet, Nathan Daniel Ford on violin, and Chris Humphrey on accordion, and in the execution of Adam Roberts’ exuberant choreography.
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