Next to the fame of Tennessee Williams classics such as The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Summer and Smoke seems like the obscure brother of the family: the one who stayed home when everyone else went to Hollywood. Though often overlooked, it is nevertheless part of the same brilliant family. Summer and Smoke, playing at the Downtown Play On! Theatre until March 27, is a strong, character-driven play that explores human nature through complex characters and the contrasts between sexual repression and indulgence, the body and the soul.
Set in a provincial Mississippi town, the play centers around Alma Winemiller (Emma Duncan), a sexually repressed preacher's daughter prone to nervous fits, and her relationship with John Buchanan (Geoffrey Culbertson), the charming but debauched young doctor with whom she has been in love since their childhood friendship. Both are potentially extraordinary people imprisoned by their vices. Alma is imprisoned by her nervous fits and immovable inhibitions, and John by his self-destructive debauchery.
While the quality of the acting for the minor characters varied, the two leads were stellar throughout, making their complex characters heartbreakingly realistic and relatable. Their emotions were not only genuine - they were contagious. Every time John grinned the audience grinned along with him - just watching Alma twist her ring nervously was enough to make me fidget in my seat. I was equally empathetic with the characters' confusion and grief, making the play, if not an uplifting experience, at least a cathartic one.
The dialogue, colored with convincing Southern accents, is characteristically rural, but no less accessible for it. It is full of the symbolism and memorable monologues we've come to expect from one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century.
The costumes were elaborate and varied, from Alma's lace gloves and prudish dresses to young Nellie's frilly party dresses to saucy Rosa's Spanish dancer's dress. The entire set was well designed, but the symbolic angel statue of the courtyard steals the stage. When the lights dim, she remains lit, her arms outstretched, but not as in a welcoming embrace - instead, the angel is like a blind person struggling to reach out and feel the world around her. The statue is an obvious incarnation of Alma; the water of its fountain is described as water forever cool, as it comes from deep underground.
Summer and Smoke was a sensual, engaging and heart-rending tale of two characters' struggle for connection and their search for salvation from themselves. It is an experience of human nature that should not be missed. Call (434) 872-0184 for box office information about the production.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
