Written by Eve Speer
Silver Summit Theatre Company invited me to see their final dress rehearsal for their upcoming production of The Pavillion. The show opens tonight and runs through June 22. As the dramaturg Brian Powell shares in the program, the play is “a tribute to the form, intention, and innovations of Our Town.”
Craig Wright wrote The Pavilion in January 2003. It premiered Off-Broadway at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in September 2005. It has been produced 40 times since then.
In 2003, Craig Wright was 37, the same age as The Pavillion’s Peter. Early in 2003, Wright wrote this episode entitled “Timing and Space” for the acclaimed television show Six Feet Under. This scene takes place on the edge of a body of water. Two ex-lovers talk about their past, their present, their love, how their past together made them who they are today… Cosmic conversations between simple people, living simple lives. I’m showing you this scene so you can enjoy a glimmer of the kind of writing and themes you’ll enjoy while watching The Pavillion.
The play tells us that each of us is the center of the universe. As the play progresses, each minor character shares their pangs and joys and we sense the universe they occupy. Every moment is the start of a new universe. But time always goes forward. You cannot go back. You cannot undo. You can only let go. If you hold too tightly to the past, it will rip you into shreds. Because time always goes forward.
The story is about a girl and a boy, a man and a woman who return to a pavilion on the edge of a lake for their twenty-year high school reunion. Simple people, simple lives. And cosmic things happen.
At the start of the play, I settled into my chair and warmed as I saw the simple set. Two benches. Two narrators stood on opposite sides of the stage and shared in telling me the history of the universe from the first drop of rain to the birth of Peter’s great-great-grandmother. My head whipped back and forth, following one narrator, then the other, as they shared Wright’s poetry. I felt a little like I was watching tennis. I finally just looked straight ahead and just allowed the words and the intoned music sink into my consciousness. I felt my mind expand, like I was being carried into the heart of the play. And then, without fumbling, the story transitioned into a hilarious scene between two guys returning home for their reunion. And another funny scene played out. And another. The entire play was peppered with humor, intermingled with magic, and touched with pathos and passion.
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Allen Smith plays Peter. Cami Rozanas plays Kari. Brian Pilling and Julie Mylan Simonich play everyone else at the reunion, in addition to narrating the entire history of the universe. In the middle of the reunion, Peter gets up to sing a song he wrote. He needs to play it on the guitar—and Mr. Smith doesn’t exactly play the guitar—but his character Peter does. So Mr. Smith muddles through it, but we forgive him because his voice is strong and soft all at once. He presents this confident man, undone by secret regret. Strong and soft. Outside of this small town, no one would ever see his flaws. Mr. Smith balances this vulnerability and power effortlessly. Cami Rozanas rides this line between caricature of a Minnesota small town girl and complicated leading lady. There are moments where she hides behind the voice and the fixed expressions, almost afraid of the emotion of the play. But then there are these safe moments when she lets go of the isms and just embodies Wright’s delicate language. I was enthralled.
Mr. Pilling and Ms. Simonich are both hilarious. Because they both play several different people—sometimes at once—they go to a few outrageous places to delineate and define the different men and women at the reunion, but they both find these kernels of truth. There’s a moment where one of Pilling’s characters is having a hilarious fit of crying and I found myself tearing up in this tiny little moment that’s meant to be funny.
The program tells me that the costumes were designed by the players—well done. And the set was designed by the playwright—kudos. The bulk of the design work was done by lighting designer Austin Stephenson. He gives us a night sky covered in stars, and at other times he warms the stage with shades of lilac at dusk. He reminded me why I adore The Sugar Space as a venue. The soundscape was designed by Mikal Troy Klee. The meditative tones at the beginning melt into the sounds of the reunion, complete with songs from the 90s. Jamie S’ua is the stage manager.
Overall, directors Michele Case Rideout and Amy C. Allred have created an incredible play. Please do not miss this opportunity to see an exquisite play, done exquisitely. The show is an adult show that mature audiences will enjoy. As such, you’ll enjoy the touch of profanity. And if you don’t enjoy that, come anyway and ignore it! The poetry alone is worth the trip! The Sugar Space is located at 616 Wilmington Avenue, Salt Lake City. (Just one block west of 700 East and a couple blocks south of 2100 South.) For tickets, visit www.buyyourtix.com . For more information about Silver Summit Theatre, visit their website at http://silversummittheatre.org/
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