Wonder of the World

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "Wonder of the World" by David Lindsay-Abaire

Date: Fri, May 12 11:42 PM

Quicktake on WONDER OF THE WORLD

     Vokes Players' spectacular winter production of "Amadeus" was a hard act to follow, and while the acting in "Wonder of the World", another of David Lindsay-Abaire's skewed takes on modern society and women in it is worth the admission--if you can get a ticket--the technical support for this offering is merely sufficient. There's no organizing theme to the variety of scenes, starting with the opening, This is one of those production where the crew needs to incorporated in the show, probably be costumes changes, unless some sort of complex unit set's been devised.
     The central character, Cass Harris, is played with full out by Kathleen Dalton, with David Wood as Kip, her husband with a guilty secret, and more importantly, Kimberly McClure as Lois, the woman she meets on her pilgrimage to Niagara Falls. McClure's deft underplaying as an abandoned and alcoholic wife planning to commit suicide by going over the falls in a barrel forms a predictable support to Dalton's flights of fancy. The rest of this cast of comedians includes stalwart Bill Stambaugh, the captain of the Maid of the Mist who Cass takes up with, Deanna Swan and Brad Walters as a pair of would-be private eyes Kip hires to locate her, and most impressively, Anne Damon, as everyone else, starting with a woman Cass buys a blonde wig from, the pilot of a sightseeing helicopter--trying to overcome a fear of heights, three waitresses at three different themed restaurants--all in the same scene, and finally, a marriage counselor who shows up wearing a clown costume because she's just been volunteering at a children's hospital. Kip incidentally is afraid of clowns.
     Like Abaire's other two notable plays, the cockeyed world view of "Wonder of the World" must become believable. This cast under Doug Sanders make it work. For their summer time show, John Barrett will direct the Vokes Players production of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," a landmark play which continues to resonate in the American political landscape.

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"Wonder of the World" by David Lindsay-Abaire, May 4 - 20

Vokes Players at Vokes Theatre

RT#20, Wayland MA, (508) 358 - 4034
Vokes Players