This is horn-tooting at its finest, folks. But I don't care. I got a good review. :)
The show opens officially tomorrow night. If you're in our neck of the woods, come on down.
~Review from the Indianapolis Callboard listserv, by Julie Powers, board moderator~
"Keeley and Du", by Jane Martin, is not an easy show to see, but you SHOULD GO. Opening tomorrow at the Wheeler Arts Center, it has a fantastic cast and lives up to the ideal of "theatre as catharsis". When Jen Henry and John Mercer are your bit players, you know you have a cast to reckon with. And I left sobbing . . . yeah, I know that doesn't sound like the most "fun" thing to sandwich in between dinner and drinks on a Saturday night, but it would be a shame to miss the work of the two leads-Angela Steele as Keeley and Elise Le Bruin as Du.
Angela's performance had me teary by the 3rd scene, and put me in mind of the sort of performance that gets Oscar nods-pretty actress going "ugly" for the sake of drama. I have always loved Angela on stage. I think she's lovely, earthy and honest. That is no different here. She becomes Keeley-I never felt "look at Angela do that" but felt for the situation of the character. She is handcuffed to the bed through most of the show, in a hospital gown, lank hair, no makeup. She also spends a lot of time not speaking, but her face tells her story, her eyes blaze. She is a woman wrung out, on the edge, and I was right there with her. It's an amazing feat of acting, please, PLEASE don't miss it.
Elise plays Du. When you see her picture in the program, she looks about 12, and Du is supposed to be a grandmother in her 60s. Once you get about 2 scenes in, though, you completely buy this young girl as a "big momma". I really liked the choice to play Du as a black woman. It doesn't specify race in the script, and I think the role tends to be cast white. Still, Elise nails it-the voice, the inflection, the physicality, the intentions. I've never seen her before, but hope to again, she's marvelous. The chemistry between the women is touching and real.
Alan Shepard is completely effective as the religious zealot Walter, I had to refrain on more than one occasion from winging my water bottle at his head. He is utterly convincing, because I totally hated him, and I hear he's actually a very sweet guy.
Matt Graber is fine as Cole . . . physically right for the role, he shows up in a pivotal scene, but I felt of all the characters that he was the least engaging. He has a hefty monologue trying to convince Keeley to take him back, but I wanted to see more levels/tactics from him. It was a little one note, but gave the impression (that may have been intentional) that Cole wasn't very bright. The slight southern drawl and the white socks with the black pants probably also added to that impression.
Jen and John don't have much to do, but I thought that Jen was as effective as a butch prison guard as a delicate ingenue, so that was fun.
The set, lights and costumes are all well done. A slight sound glitch at the end (but it WAS preview, it'll probably be a moot point by tomorrow) and an audience member falling off the back riser were the only disruptions to the show. Like "Our Country's Good", "Keeley and Du" is really episodic, with 18 short scenes, one only about 30 seconds long, so it can feel like you're sitting in the dark a lot at the beginning, but after a few scenes, it didn't bother me.
Scot Greenwell is a really strong director. If you've not worked with him yet, you should. He does things that aren't your typical fare, but his shows are always professionally done, and he gets the best out of his actors. Nothing here is gory or over the top, it's just real, gut level stuff.
Yes, the central issue of the play is abortion, but there is SO much more there. There is a rich exploration of the relationship between these 2 women, about gender relations in our society-actually, the gender thing struck me particularly tonight-about domestic violence. (And on an important side note, a portion of the proceeds of the show are going to the Julian Center) It touches on the conflicting issues involved in being a parent, another thing that many people will relate to.
Go see this to think, to be moved, to see some really fine acting. It's not easy, but it is worth it.
