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Volume 3, Issue 16
August 2 - August 15, 2001
Acting Up
Cilicia Yakhlef
SHOPPING ON
IMPULSE
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THE FAMILY FLEA
The Bug Theatre
3654 Navajo Street, Denver,
303-807-2947
www.bugtheatre.com
Watching people make their way through a flea market is like watching a
bug bumble around a spider's web. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact
moment in which they get caught, nearly
impossible to define the single strand that
first snared them. But, the entrapment
itself seems eloquently inevitable, and is
tremendously intriguing to watch.
Such is the case with The Family Flea, a
contemporary play written by C. Andrew
Garrison. Garrison lives in Kansas City,
and holds an MFA in acting and directing.
The script of The Family Flea kneads
these credentials into a hearty dough that
sticks to the ribs like a fresh-out-of-the-oven
slice of grandma's white bread.
Director Anna Hadzi grabs the loaf by the
crust and rips it open for the audience,
serving up a vintage bit of Americana that
is as boundless and expansive as the
country that birthed the flea market phenomena.
One of the truly amazing things about
flea markets is the depth of character in
every face and every item there. Stories
seem to shout from every direction. There
is an almost overwhelming sense of
voyeurism in handling things that have
lived a life elsewhere. Contradiction
abounds in such items, it is often hard to
tell the difference between worth and
worthlessness. It is a very human contradiction,
which Hadzi underscores gracefully
in her direction of The Family Flea.
The play investigates the human elements
of worth and worthlessness. Realistic dialogue
helps the characters search out their
tarnished dreams and polish them up like
treasures. The script picks up the broken
elements of their lives and mends them
back together. With a deftly written plot,
the playwright tosses out a piece of
America as comfortable and colorful as a
patchwork quilt.
Set designer Don Carlton certainly helps
paint the mood with a set that is not only
convincing and realistic, but interactive
too. At the opening of the play, an
announcement is made that all of the articles
on the stage are for sale. Prices are
stuck to benches, lamps, and posters. The
audience is encouraged to come up and
place a bid on anything they like. At the
end of the play, the highest bidders are
announced, and assisted off the stage
with their purchases. Benefits of the auction,
along with the profits from the play
are donated to the Family Tree, an organization
for family crisis services.
Acting is seamless in this production.
Linda Wirth, who has a list of credits a
mile long, gives an outstanding performance
as Maxine. She dominates the stage
as the matriarch of the Family Flea.
Maxine seems to have an ability to see
through people as if they were glass, but
has a harder time looking in the mirror.
She uses her razor sharp sarcasm to shred
arguments and squash dissenters to her
rule. She sits like a queen upon her stool
outside the squeaking protests of the
wooden screen door that keeps people in
or out of her home. She never moves
from that place. Perhaps because the
script would make her stolid as an old
mountain, or perhaps because the playwright
and director have made accommodations
in the script because the actress is
blind. Either way, the role seems as if it
was written for Linda Wirth, and her
alone. Her performance is visionary and
completely enthralling.
Karen Slack plays a triad of supporting
roles with surprising energy and skill.
Her credits, which include a stint as part
of the company for The American
Academy of Dramatic Arts, support her
on-stage ability to shift from ditzy customer, to real estate maven, to Zen-mistress
psychic.
Timothy Englert plays Conrad Owens--
the kind of husband/father we all wish we
had. Betsy Grisard plays Jessie McCall as
if she strolled right off her front porch
and onto the set. Betsy is a natural at this
role and she brings a comfortable aesthetic
to the character of Jessie. Ali Haltam is
new on the scene, but gives a fine performance
as Albert. Stuart O'Steen is a
pro who tones down his Shakespearean
repertoire to play a Russian aristocrat.
Lisa Rosenhagen is Stacy, the naive
young daughter of Maxine, and Jillann
Tafel plays Charlotte, the workhorse oldest
daughter who is to inherit the wealth
of junk and memories that has kept the
matriarchy together for three generations.
The play closed July 28, but is very likely
to resurface soon, thanks to the fine
efforts of all involved. It is an outstanding
piece likely to grow rapidly in popularity.
It had a staged reading last year, and this
year played to a hearty house at the Bug.
Watch for it in the future, and be assured
it is an important work, both for its lack
of pretension, and for its genuine celebration
of the kinds of people that lie at the
ethereal heart of America. A
--Cilicia Yakhlef
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