A Utah Theater Review by Tyrone Svedin
Saturday night, I headed over to the Valley Center Playhouse (VCP) to check out the opening weekend of Conflict Turns to Love. I was in this show eight years ago at the same theater, so I’ve never seen the show before. I was excited to be on the other side of the performance and watch the show. The directors were the same as when I did this show. They were enjoyable to work with. This show is by no means an award-winning show but if you enjoy a night of fun, for $7 this live performance is worth it. The VCP has been around for over 30 years treating the community with family friendly shows. They are known for producing clean and fun productions for the whole family. No need to worry about what your kids are going to see at this theater.
This play was set in 1897 in uptown New York. Two families living next door to each other, the Morrises and the Fosters, have had a family feud for several years and don’t even know why. As both men are running for mayor of this town, their feelings toward each other are very apparent. The women have the same feelings as well but they try to keep the fighting down. What the parents don’t realize is that their kids are secretly in love with each other.
One interesting phenomenon of live theater is that opening night can be better than the second night. When actors have a good opening night they often think that they are good to go and don’t review their lines. This letdown leads to a lot of mistakes the second night. I saw this play on the second night and I noticed that there were several lines forgotten.
The script flowed really well however. I enjoyed many of the lines, although the lines weren’t delivered very well. It didn’t seem like the cast was ready to perform the show. I was watching a bunch of actors acting instead of characters living their lives and interacting. It seemed that they had no purpose or reason for saying their lines or doing their blocking. The blocking was out of character, and seemed they were doing what they had been told to do. However, I enjoyed the show; I will return in a couple weeks to see it again when the cast has gotten their characterization down and is no longer worried about getting their lines out correctly.
The play is set in the home of the Morrises. Dottie Morris (played by Alise Cloward), is the daughter in love with Peter Foster (played by Chase Neuwirth). Peter Foster is the part I played a few years back. I met Alise a couple weeks ago at the theater and she shared with me that she had never done a show before. Considering that this is Alise’s first part in a play, she did very well. She was one of the more believable actors in the show. Both she and Amber Buckles, who played Irene Bates, stood out in this show. Amber’s part wasn’t necessary, nor was Chase Bunker’s part (played by Lawrence Daniels), but these two parts added some humor to the play.
Sally Ann Morris (played by Drew Buckles) was the most enjoyable part in the play. Drew got to play the younger rebellious sister putting on rouge at the age of 15 and wanting to wear tight under pantaloons. She was the comic relief of the play. She has her lines, but now I wish I could see her ‘be’ the character. She has huge potential to steal the show.
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The feuding couples, Walter and Hannah Morris (played by Mark Page and Mary Powell) and Charles and Kate Foster (played by Dan Hatt and Kate Foster), seemed to lack chemistry as both couples and feuding neighbors. I wanted to see more passionate interaction between husbands and wives, and more anger from the men towards each other. It may be that the actors are still worried about getting their lines right but they don’t have an authentic feel to their characters.
All the actors looked the part and the set was proper for the time. The costumes were fun to look at; some of the dresses were beautiful. I enjoyed one of the jackets of Walter Morris. When he opened his jacket it was full of colorful circles on the lining.
Overall, I enjoyed the show. The script was well written by Peter North. There wasn’t much depth to the show, it has a farcical feel to it, but it was written well enough that the actors can give some deep characterization to their parts.
If you would like to enjoy a fun show, Conflict Turns to Love is performing at the Valley Center Playhouse in Lindon at 780 N 200 E, every Friday, Saturday, and Monday at 7:30 until October 1.
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