Home  Entertainment Reviews Raised in Captivity by Nicky Silver (Feb. 18)
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Raised in Captivity by Nicky Silver (Feb. 18) |
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Written by Barry Gaines
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Monday, 18 February 2008 |
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Albuquerque’s theaters are currently presenting a group of plays dealing with fractured families, sibling rivalry, parental estrangement, and personal atonement. The contribution at the Vortex, “Raised in Captivity” by Nicky Silver, approaches these topics with absurdist humor that nevertheless seems just right for the serious subject matter.
The spirited production directed by John Hardman puts the “fun” in “dysfunction” with characters we care about interacting in bizarre situations. The play opens at the grave of Miranda Bliss, mother of twins Sebastian and Bernadette, who was killed by the blow from a faulty showerhead. Son Sebastian comments, “Odd, as I knew her as a person who primarily took baths,” and the play’s zany tone is set. Also present at the cemetery is Bernadette, whose mood swings are emotional tsunamis, and her husband Kip, a dentist who hates teeth. Alienation and recrimination abound. We learn that Sebastian is deeply in debt and terribly alone since the death of his lover Simon eleven years ago. Sebastian next tries to extricate himself from his weekly visits with his psychologist Hillary MacMahon who then declares her love for Sebastian and accuses him of seeing another doctor. Sebastian also corresponds with Dylan Taylor Sinclair, a convicted murderer whom he has never met. I don’t want to give away any more of the whacky plot; the amazing thing is that the characters emerge as genuine despite the strangeness of their stories. Playwright Silver does not allow his creations to take themselves too seriously, and, as a result, we find ourselves taking them very seriously. The aching desire for redemption among the characters is finally fulfilled at the play’s conclusion. Director Hardman has done a fine job preparing his cast. All of the actors speak their lines crisply and with feeling, and the pace is rapid. Matt Heath plays Sebastian with sensitivity and passion. Aaron Worley is excellent as the ever-optimistic Kip who turns away from dentistry (“There is no poetry in teeth”) to take up painting. Emily Carvey has a wonderful time playing Hillary MacMahon—the troubled psychologist who hates both Freud and herself—managing to awaken our empathy even as we laugh. Georgette Reeves is super as the hyper/volatile Bernadette. She is utterly convincing in her eccentricity, and I can’t imagine the role being played better. “Raised in Captivity “ is a treat. If You Go WHAT: “Raised in Captivity” by Nicky Silver WHEN: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 6 p.m. through March 9 WHERE: The Vortex Theatre, 2004½ Central, SE HOW MUCH: $12. Reservations 247-8600
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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