Review By Rae Hunt, Front Row Reviewers
The story of Tristan and Isolde and their tragic love is a classic Irish tale of old. This tale as reimagined in Tristram, the medieval fantasy retelling by Cobb&Co Theater Productions at the Angelus Theatre in Spanish Fork, Utah, is perfect blend of romance, humor, drama and tragedy. Nathaniel Erickson plays Tristram (an older original moniker of Tristan) who is the foremost knight of King Mark (Adam S. Johnson). He and his comrade Gareth (Darin Erickson) are tasked with retrieving the beautiful princess Isolde (Sami Nordin) who is to wed King Mark. The king also tasked him with providing a gift to Isolde, a love potion, so that their marriage may be a blissful one. However, Isolde opens the gift near Tristram and the pair fall in tragic love, knowing they can never be together. Upon returning to King Mark, Isolde meets the king’s sister Dunoweth (Jorri Johnson) who befriends Isolde initially but quickly realizes that Isolde is in love with Tristram. She becomes extremely jealous because she is also in love with Tristram and wants to marry him. She decides to plot with a neighboring king, the evil Grenwulf (Garion Jorgensen), to bring Isolde down with a dagger she has poisoned. What will happen when King Mark finds out about their love? Will Tristram and Isolde overcome their challenges to live happily ever after? Or will Dunoweth’s plot succeed and cut these two lovers down in their prime?
N. Erickson is a perfect choice for the stalwart and stoic Tristram. He has a solid stage presence with a clear and amazing voice, both as a singer and in spoken lines. He takes this character and really brings him to life. Despite Tristram being in love with the queen and was subsequently exiled, he refuses to break loyalty with his king, even going so far as to save the king’s life. Erickson’s believable portrayal of this loyalty that is in conflict with his love is just beautiful to watch. Nordin’s amazing voice floods the stage with the sound of angels as the beautiful Isolde. I loved listening to all her musical numbers and her voice projection is awe inspiring. Her characterization of Isolde is spot on and she has a beautiful rapport with both King Mark and Tristram.
J. Johnson as the king’s sister Dunoweth is brilliant as the flighty and jealous princess who’s been in love with Tristram. She has a delightfully devilish personality onstage and always seems to be wherever the action is. Her scenes when she is poisoning a knife with Grenwulf are fantastic and these two actors sell their story of deceit well.
Robert Cunningham as Isolde’s father King Eiden is both regal as a monarch and caring as a father. He conveys great love for Isolde. Johnson, as Mark, is quickly besotted with Isolde and is clearly proud of having married her. Cunningham’s portrayal of such an interesting characters is well placed here. He does a fine job.
Amanda Gould is Raghnah, the sorceress who initially makes the love potion that Isolde consumes and later provides an antidote for Isolde only. Along with Gareth, played by D. Erickson, who is the comrade of Tristram, these two supporting actors do a fantastic job of filling in the audience’s understanding of the story. These characters have a lot of personality as well as adding quite a bit of humor to the production.
Shamelessly, I admit my favorite character is Edwin. Played by Nathan Harper, this teen just steals the show with his portrayal of Tristram’s squire. He delivers his lines flawlessly with wit and eagerness. He’s very energetic and forthright. His exuberance and youthfulness is really delightful to watch.
In addition to the main cast, I absolutely enjoyed the rest of the ensemble cast. The songs and choreography (Rebecca Cobb) are refreshingly new and unique, all delivered with humor or drama as the story needed and clever use of the cast and costume changes made the ensemble seem much larger than it actually was.
The technical crew did a fantastic job with lighting (Nathan Nordin) and props (Jessica Whitby) and the detailed costumes (Erin Cobb) that are right in line with the medieval fantasy theme. The original music and lyrics by Tony Cobb is amazing and definitely worth another listen. Director Ruthie Cobb, assisted by John Cobb brings a mystical, magical touch to Tristram that you don’t want to miss.
Cobb&Co Theater Productions presents Tristram by Tony Cobb.
Angelus Theater, 164 N Main St, Spanish Fork, UT 84660
Sept 16 – Sept 28, 2024 7:30 PM.
Tickets: $16
Contact: cobbcotheaterproductions@gmail.com
Photos by Jon Ogden
The theater recommends Tristram for teens and up for violence.
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