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| Jay Lee and Melinda deKay |
A house breathes
inhales and exhales,
rises and reconciles.
It moves
effectively
when
battered shadows
release.
A house
is a living
breathing thing. – Narrator
coeurage theatre company presents Vieux Carré by Tennessee Williams and
directed by Jeremy Lelliott through March 12th, 2016.
The ghosts inhabit 722 Rue Toulouse Street in New Orleans. In Tennessee Williams’ writings, the shadows
moved from room to room to witness a re-awakening from long ago. In the writing, they are still there; they
haunt; the shadows slip through the tiny narrow passageways and up stairwells, trying
to find comfort before moving on.
The house still breathes, slowly, in and out, until an exasperated
breath satiates the room.
Or maybe the house breathes because of the balmy weather,
the clouds that roll by highlighting the shadows, exacerbated by the winds off both
Lake Pontchartrain, to the north, and the Mississippi River to the east.
This house with a misfit band of boarders residing in
tattered rooms was briefly home to Tennessee Williams. And nineteen thirty-nine
left a lasting impression on Williams.
Vieux Carré directed by Jeremy Lelliott is a theatrical masterpiece. This surprising, alluring version of the play
attacks the visceral senses. It is Lelliott’s
extraordinary vision that captures a fascinating period of time and place. The actors are mesmerizing, living, breathing,
three-dimensional characters that occupy the space so perfectly that one gets a
tingling sensation, caught up and absorbing every desperate moment.
And to encapsulate it all: The breathless loneliness is
personified in that one lone creature, The Writer.
“Once this house was alive, it was occupied once. In my recollection, it still is but by
shadowy occupants like ghosts. Now they
enter the lighter areas of my memory.” – Writer
They are there. Mrs.
Wire (Melinda deKay) yelling at Nursie (Leontine Guilliard) to get her a pillow.
Nursie enters from the darkness screaming because there’s a
bat in her kitchen, like the ones hanging outside from the banana tree.
“…they all scream at once and fly up like a explosion of damned souls
out of a graveyard.” – Nursie
“If such a thing was true!” – Mrs. Wire.
“As God’s word is true.” – Nursie
Nursie is getting old and thinking about retiring but Mrs.
Wire won’t let her. Mrs. Wire is getting old too and needs someone to tend to
her. Anyway, Mrs. Wire pounds the pillows and lies on the cot in the hallway in front
of the door keeping an eye on the occupants as they enter and leave the house.
Writer (Jay Lee) comes in and after a brief interrogation from
Mrs. Wire. She tells him to take Sky’s sack upstairs. And she also lets on that
she’s got plans for him.
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| L - Sammi Smith, Jay Lee, Leontine Guilliard |
Angelical Jane (Sammi Smith) casually strolls into the house with a paper bag in hand and Mrs. Wire
has words for her too, about coming in after midnight, which no self-respecting
single girl would do. Jane said she was out getting Black Flag because the
flying cockroaches are flying into her face from her window that does not have
a screen.
“…if a screen has not been put in that window by tomorrow, I will buy
one for it myself and deduct the cost from the next month’s rent.” – Jane
Mrs. Wire goes on to complain about the man sharing her
room, Tye McCool (Shaun Taylor-Corbett). Jane is smart enough to understand
that she might have made a mistake with him but she’s tired and moves on.
No sooner has Jane has left the room, Nightingale (Dieterich
Gray) saunters in with a young man he has picked up at the bus station. His cousin Jake, or Blake (Graham Kurtz), he is
not sure which. Anyway, Nightingale has
family things to discuss with his cousin up in his room but Mrs. Wire
immediately put a stop to that in her house.
Mary Maude (Carryl Lynn) and Miss Carrie (Sandy Mansson),
two crones, make their way into the kitchen bringing bags of goodies. Well,
greasy bags of rotting food they find in garbage pails. They suggest the leftovers
of the “steak Diane” and the chicken “bonne femme” should go into the icebox.
Nursie says to leave it but knows that it’s going directly into the trash where
it belongs.
Jane wonders out loud if their pride would be offended if
she bought them groceries. Nursie just
laughs.
“Honey, they gone as far past pride as they gone past mistaking a
buzzard for a bluebird.” – Nursie
Tye comes stumbling in.
He is an addict, and a barker at a strip joint. His effluvium is enough
to give him away but Jane ignores him and feels free to talk about him and his
faults.
The cast is exceptional as well as diverse.
Jay Lee is very
appealing as The Writer and has a charming way about the character’s persona. His Southern accent is mixed by way of Saint
Louis to Memphis and then to New Orleans. As his accent changes from time to
time, by living in various locals, it is either genius or accidental. Still, Lee produces some very nice work.
Melinda deKay
presents a grand figure as Mrs. Wire, a voyeur masquerading as a landlady. It is a role in which deKay presents the right
balance of being kind one moment and oppressive the next. Her portrayal is
moving and sympathetic, dastardly and unsympathetic. Actors covet these kinds of roles and deKay
makes the most of her opportunity. Overall,
a tremendous job.
Leontine Guilliard
as Nursie provides just the right blend to support all the boarders in the
house. Guilliard does fine work in her relationship and her interaction will
the other characters in the play.
Sammi Smith is
extraordinary as Jane. Smart and
wholesome, she has just enough wherewithals to get by. Once thought of as unwholesome, Jane is
always thinking about her next move and relies on the others to help her through
her current predicament. And yes, there is that progressive blood disease, gnawing in the back of her mind. If only she could relieve herself of her carnal desires and her boyfriend.
Smith provides just the right touch to the character, the historical
background, and a solid objective.
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| L - Dieterich Gray, Jay Lee |
Dieterich Gray, as
Nightingale, is marvelous as a campy gay man who wants to go out swinging
before tuberculosis takes him out. He is
barely able to survive by being a quick-sketch artist but his curiosity about
wanting to know everything gay is profound. Nightingale probably knows that he
is dying but wants to have fun living life before he reaches his expiration
date. Gray's work is solid and exceptional.
Graham Kurtz
plays Pickup (Jake or Blake) and has some interesting moments in the short time
he is on stage.
Carryl Lynn is
Mary Maude and Sandy Mansson is Miss
Carrie and both add a delightful touch to the production.
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| L - Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Jay Lee, Sammi Smith |
Shaun Taylor-Corbett
brings an outstanding physical life to Tye.
He is a strip show barker, addicted to drugs and beautiful smart women.
His current life is on a downward spiral.
He has acuity of vision – to look at someone and find fault, but is
really trying to find someone to save him from himself. Taylor-Corbett moves about the stage with
confidence and precision. The work is exceptional.
Tony Brown brings
some much-needed humor as the Judge. He
is also the photographer.
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| L - Jonathan Kells Phillips, Jay Lee |
Jonathan Kells
Phillips is also exceptional as Sky, a jazz clarinetist, who captures the
adventurous soul of The Writer and takes him with him. Phillips manages to project
the everyman ideals on stage. And Phillip’s craft has an extreme clarity with a
grand mixture of a physical life, mixed with an emotional core, and a
historical background. Although he does
not appear until late in the play, this is one performance you do not want to
miss!
On top of everything else the actors breathing at the
beginning and the end is spectacular!
Lelliott has Jeff
Gardner doing foley as though this were a radio play adding sound effects,
the sound of rain, someone pouring liquids into a cup, matches being lit, and doors
opening. All of this was exceptional but could have had a little more volume.
Alternates who are in the play but did not perform the night
I was there are John Klopping (The Writer), Candace Hammer (Jane), Noel Olken (Nightingale/Photographer/Judge),
Zach Kanner (Pickup/Sky), Roses Prichard (Mrs. Wire), Toni Trenton (Mary Maude/Miss Carrie),
and Charles Britton as Tye.
The Scenic Design by JR
Bruce was exceptional – just enough symbolism and realism to complete the
set and give the actors a marvelous place to play.
The Costume Design by Magdalena
Guillen was also exceptional that provided the actors one extra element to
their respective character. The Costume Assistant, Estrella Fernandez was also instrumental in bringing the character
to life.
Lighting Design by Brandon
Baruch provided just enough light to have characters hiding in the shadows
when they needed to be and profoundly exhibited when the need arose. His work
was also exceptional.
Other members of the crew are as follows:
Megan Laughlin –
Stage Manager
Malika Williams –
Assistant Director/Dramaturg
Charles Britton –
Prop Design
James Ferrero –
Recorded Sound Design
TJ Marchbank –
Fight Choreography
Donna Eshelman –
Movement Coach/Choreography
Nardeep Khurmi, John
Klopping – Production Photographers
Melissa Pryor –
Casting Consultant
Ken Werther –
Press Representative
Run! Run! Run! And
take someone who is curious and lonely.
The Historic Lankershim Arts Center - 5108 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood
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