By Jannalee Hunsaker
Ah Wilderness, in the beautiful Jay W. Lees Courage Theatre on the campus of Westminster College in Salt Lake City gives us a glimpse back to the days where sitting in the parlor, talking and reading was the norm in the early 1900s. The Millers remind us of what families did together before the era of technology. Written by Eugene O’Neill and directed by Jared Larkin, Ah Wilderness is a tender memory about a family celebrating and struggling through the Fourth of July holiday.
The title of the play, Ah, Wilderness, plays a significant role in the understanding of the play. The ‘wilderness” is used as a metaphor for the period in a male’s life when he is no longer a boy, but not yet a man. This play tells the coming-of-age story of Richard Miller, played by Jordan Reynosa and the evolution he undergoes while becoming a man. The most compelling reason to see this play is to see Reynosa as rebellious 16-year-old Richard Miller. Reynosa’s performance captures Richard’s mix of idealism, restlessness, confusion, and anguish of feeling love for the first time.
Ah Wilderness is set in 1906 in a small Connecticut beach town where the Millers are preparing for the Independence Day celebrations. We meet Nat (Alvaro Cortez), a respected newspaper man and father, and Essie (Sara Peel), the jovial, caring, and doting mother, her sister, Lily (Mauri Hefley), who is staying with the family for the summer and has an ongoing flirtatious relationship with Sid (Abenadie Hofeling), who is Nat’s friend. All these characters brilliantly share quirky personality traits that contribute to the palpable anxiety and awkwardness that begins to unravel everyone’s fuse. The eldest son Arthur (Jack S. Cobabe) and his little sister Mildred (Katie Smith) give their folks little trouble, but love to give each other a hard time, a little brother-sister teasing helps the audience connect with the family dynamic.
Muriel, played by Maddie Elledge, is a sweet 16-year-old girl, who too, is dealing with the first-time angst of falling in love. She is torn between loving Richard and dealing with her father who has demanded that she not see Richard anymore. Elledge’s charm and determination shows that love can conquer all. Her union with Richard is one of the feel-good moments of the play.
Family has a huge part of this story. In the Miller house, everyone belongs, everyone is accepted, and everyone in the family has a place, and knows that whatever happens, there will be tolerance, forgiveness, and love.
The set design is simplistic yet rings true in every sense of the early 1900s. I enjoyed the whimsical design of the living room picture and windows hanging as if they are floating in air.. One particular affect that was an audience favorite was a flash of light, followed by the actors freezing on stage giving the illusion that a photograph had just been taken. At the beginning of the play and the end of each scene, this flash occurred. I could imagine the photographer, perched over his wooden three-legged tripod, covered with a black drape and clutching the bulb in his band taking each picture. It is an audience favorite based on the oohs and ahs that I heard after each flash. The set and light designer, Spencer Brown must be given credit for the cleverness and realism of the photograph. The costumes by Spencer Potter are picture perfect, from the lace to plaid to the women’s bonnets. You definitely know you are watching a genuine period piece, with all the authenticity and detail Spencer has created.
Westminster’s Jay W. Lees Courage theatre does full justice to Ah Willderness’s gentle comedy and serves equally well in depicting the love story between Richard and Muriel. As usual in romantic comedies, love conquers all and the audience went home with faces wreathed in smiles, but not just because love won overall, but because of the memorable talent of the cast. This is a family friendly production.
Westminster College presents Ah Wilderness by Eugene O’Neill.
Westminster College, Courage Theatre – Jewett Center for the Performing Arts, 1840 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84105
November 14-16, 21-23, 2019 7:30 PM
Tickets: $12 at the Jewett Theatre Box Office. free for Westminster students, faculty and staff with ID at the Jewett Box Office.
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Westminster College Performing Arts
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