Review - Night Watch - Melbourne Civic Theater

From time to time, I'll post my review of local community theater performances. Here's the first of surely many more to come.

Night Watch

My pledge to you, dear reader: No spoilers. There is not a single disclosure of any kind included herein that will detract from your enjoyment of this play nor alleviate any of the suspense you surely will be savoring throughout.

The Melbourne Civic Theater, along with all other Brevard County theaters, has been dark for a tedious and interminable two weeks. Clearly, we have been awash in the doldrums of the off-season. But then, at last night’s opening of Lucille Fletcher’s Night Watch, punctuating and precipitating the end of MCT President Vic Ross’ narrative of Melbourne theatrical history for those waiting in the theater’s lobby, there came the moment I had been so impatiently anticipating: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the house is open.”

As we made our ingress and discovered our assigned seats, I immediately was impressed with the reveal. First to be fully appreciated was the appropriateness of the musical selections filling the house. Violin and piano concerti, chilling, dramatic, scary, unobtrusively set the tone for suspense and provided a thoroughly enjoyable shiver of expectancy.

I also noticed the attention to detail in the physical decoration of the elegantly appointed set and thought two subtle themes may have been apparent. My suspicions were confirmed as both thematic elements were addressed repeatedly in both acts. So as a heterogeneous and disparate audience sluggishly and haphazardly coagulated in front of the theater’s imaginary proscenium, I delighted in anticipation of the performance, the details of the set, the piquant crescendos of wailing violin, and the opportunity to form the eidetic imagery I still retain this morning.

Night Watch was first performed in 1972 on Broadway at the Morosco Theater (razed in the name of “progress” in 1982) and the setting was to be “the present.” As such, Fletcher’s dialog and set directions avoid any contemporary cultural references and succeed for the most part in making the story as written truly timeless. However, there are still elements that will always need updating to maintain a contemporary setting and for that we must rely on the director.

In MCT’s production, the director, Mike Mellen, did a mostly fine job adjusting the 35 year old script and amenities to our present day. There were necessary adjustments like a touch tone phone replacing the rotary dial phone even though the script, written in a time of technological transition from rotary to touch-tone, explicitly calls for a rotary. There were other equally apparent and wholly important changes to the dialog, for example, when a character mentions a past date as the year 1999.

However, I felt that the script adjustments were insufficient and at times glaring, especially with regard to the protagonist’s dialog. There were several lines that seemed to create rather than suspend my disbelief. In those moments, regardless of the actor’s delivery, the experience becomes tantamount to hearing someone read the play. Surely Fletcher’s intention in writing such prose was to create an air of sophistication for her characters. And this easily would have been the case in 1972. In 2007 however, it is simply tedious.

Fortunately, there are only a scant few instances of this. In fairness, and with deference to the sexagenarians in the audience who will almost certainly have a different perception from my own, I can not completely discount a generational bias on my part.

Opening night is special. The anticipation induces a shared energy in audience and cast that just can’t be replicated on any other night. And in such a charged environment of heightened perceptions, curious expectation, and creative desire to conquer the evening, it is no wonder that there will always be a gremlin lurking inside a stage lamp, always a tongue waiting to be tied or tripped, always a cue that goes unnoticed. But to me, that is essential to the beauty of a living, breathing art such as theater.

MCT’s cast and crew, volunteers though they are, are consummate professionals and must have all but eradicated the gremlins in the dress rehearsal. Aside from an occasional bit of stammering over their lines from almost every cast member, and an obnoxiously loud sound effect (blowing wind) played over dialog, the production, especially the technical aspects, were spot on. This bodes extremely well for the rest of the play’s run. As with a bottle of fine wine that has just been opened, this play has just had it’s chance to breathe and is now ready to be enjoyed completely.

There are so many notable performances it will be hard to do pay them all the respect they deserve in the confines of a simple review. However, this play begins, ends, and revolves completely around Lisa Farrall as Elaine Wheeler. Her performance was nothing short of engrossing. From her very first opening lines, I was drawn completely into her world. And she held me there the entire performance.

It mattered not that her antagonist, husband John, played by Ron Knox, got off to a wooden and mechanical start in the opening scene. She maintained such an intensity and presence that I believe she actually pulled him into the performance to the extent that he became more and more believable in his role as the night progressed. Gradually, his was a subtle transformation from a self-conscious actor to a self-absorbed, somewhat pompous character. And this transformation had the effect of a feedback loop allowing Lisa Farrall to reactively reach new heights which consequently pulled Ron Knox along with her. By the end of the evening, they were quite a pair to watch; quite different from the opening scene.

The supporting cast is filled with fun and noteworthy performances. The entire performance seemed to come to an even keel and find it’s focus with the entrance of Sara Fieberg as Blanche Cooke. Until that point, there really had been only the conversation between Lisa Farrall and Ron Knox which suffered a bit from awkward pacing. Sara Fieberg provided a counterbalance to the tug of war that seemed to ground the entire performance and set the tone for the remainder of the Act. Since nautical metaphors were at least one theme of the evening, Sara Fieberg was the anchor.

It can be challenging for me to believe a non-native speaker affecting an accent in conversation let alone an entire performance. But, Fran Rizzuto as the German maid and Kerry Ward as the New York police detective did exceptionally well with only perhaps an instance or two of going over the top. Neither has a lot of time on stage in this play, but I can say that there were separate elements of both performances that left me wanting to see more of them in expanded future roles.

Even the most serious murder mystery needs some comic relief. Enter Kevin Hurley as Mr. Appleby. Without a doubt, you will chortle, chuckle, and just possibly guffaw while Kevin Hurley is on stage. His character is so wacky and flamboyant that he is a welcome respite from the often intense dialog whenever he appears. However, his performance is almost taken from the sublime to the ridiculous thanks to his costuming. A lesser actor delivering a less believable performance may need the silly scarf and the absurd hat to convey the full effect of Mr. Appleby. Kevin Hurley needed no such adornments, in fact, they were a bit distracting.

Nancy Andrews, Dirk Fieberg, and David Farrall all gave a good effort in their supporting roles also. I did have a hard time believing Detective Walker as character and an easier time believing him as caricature. The stereotypical fedora and fast-paced cop-speak would be more expected by me in a James Cagney film than in the context of this play. Contrarily, when I saw Nancy Andrews take the stage as Dr. Lake, I couldn’t help but think that MCT may have acquired a real psychiatrist and not an actress for this part. David Farrall as Sam Hoke had a short but memorable scene. It’s not quite clear to me to what extent he was creating comedy or drama, but he definitely had me rapt with attention as his character and Ron Knox’s faced off.

“Exeunt omnes” is a stage direction for all actors to leave the stage. Perhaps the most captivating and provocative point in the entire evening came at just such a moment. The actors all exited and the technical crew created a theater of the mind through sound effects and lighting. In ancient Greek theater, there would occasionally come a point called Parabasis. This is when the actors left and the chorus remained, speaking directly to the audience. In a kind of modern twist on this theatrical device, and with no actors left on stage to be respectful of, the audience took it upon themselves to become chorus and narrate the brief pause in action. And I must admit, the combination of sound effects and audience comments at this point provided moments of laughter that literally had tears streaming down my face.

I recently heard a professor of literature differentiate between a “murder mystery,” and a “suspense/thriller.” In the former, the audience’s task is to contemplate the question of “who?” In the latter, the question of “how or what,” commands the attention. Night Watch could arguably be classified as either. And for fear of violating my pledge of “no spoilers,” I can say no more than this unique endowment of attributes is certainly the catalyst for a theatrical experience nothing short of compelling.

There will be a moment or two when you jump right out of your seat. You certainly will laugh. You will spend your time trying to figure it all out. You will exchange theories with other patrons as you discuss it over the intermission. And you may, as I did, think you have it all figured out. But you will not piece together all the important pieces. You will not solve the whole puzzle. And in the end, you will be surprised and find the entire evening has been completely memorable, thoroughly enjoyable, and well worth it.

Night Watch is playing at The Melbourne Civic Theater in downtown Melbourne on the following dates:

July 14, 15, 20, 21, 27, and 28 @ 8:00 pm.
July 15, 22, and 29 @ 2:00 pm.

Please – arrive on time and turn off your cell phones.