A Utah Theater Review by Larisa Hicken
When I heard that An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde was playing at The Echo Theater in Provo, my first thought was, “Where’s the Echo Theater?” I figured out that The Echo Theater is a newer theatrical venue located at 145 North on University Avenue in Provo, Utah. Their aim is to be an independent theater that performs a wide variety of lesser known plays and even new original pieces.
The building is still in the process of being renovated and converted into the beautiful theater I’m sure it’s going to be, so that meant really uncomfortable folding chairs that left my rear end throbbing by intermission. However, the actors did a fine job of distracting me and I was able to forget about my backside most of the time.
My favorite actress by far was Hailey Nebeker, who absolutely lit up the stage as Mabel Chiltern. She definitely had a clear understanding of her character, the sister of Robert Chiltern, and her vibrant energy was contagious. The playful scenes between her and love interest Lord Goring (played by Jared Lynton) were beyond charming and left me wishing for my own romantic encounter like theirs.
Lynton did an excellent job as Lord Goring, the “dandy” character that Wilde made so popular in his dramas. Lynton’s comedic timing was spot on and I was spellbound by his charisma whenever he was on stage. The one suggestion I would have for this fine actor is to not look at the floor so much. I wanted to see his eyes and he had a tendency to look down far too often.
Part of the reason he might have been looking down more than usual was the close proximity of the audience to the stage area. There weren’t a lot of places to look where he wouldn’t be staring directly into the eyes of an audience member. In fact, there were a few times that the actors glanced around and made eye contact with me, which was a bit disconcerting.
One actress who was so focused that I was able to feel totally comfortable being that close was Andrea Jakeman, who played Lady Chiltern. Her performance was perfectly polished and I really connected to her honorable character. In spite of her character being so refined and straightforward, she avoided being one-dimensional and seemed to have a little fun with her character as well.
Greg Benson who played Robert Chiltern, Jakeman’s on stage husband, was a good match for her and together they had great chemistry and made me believe that their relationship could last through the challenges presented during the play. Benson gave the character of Robert Chiltern a lot of heart and I appreciated his humble interpretation.
All of the actors, including those playing the smaller parts, were a delight and I could easily believe that there was a history and relationship between each character. Lord Goring’s father, Lord Caversham, played by Joel Applegate made some fun choices physically and got more than a few laughs. Lady Marchmont (played by Kendra Hill) and Lady Basildon (played by Kara Henry) portrayed just the right about of frivolousness and brought a smile to my face with their clever interactions. Jennifer Mustoe as Lady Markby reminded me of my grandmother who loves to get involved in everyone’s business. Her character was the perfect mix of sweetness an consternation. Patrick Newman (also the assistant director) plays young butler Phipps, and the elderly butler Mason, bringing laughs as both characters.
There was one character that gave me the creeps whenever she was on the stage. Since that was her job, bravo to actress Cherie Julander who played the sinister Mrs. Chevely. She was thoroughly convincing as the character described by others as the “daytime genius and nighttime beauty.” I think Julander is capable of using an even broader variety of tactics, particularly in the scene where she is blackmailing Robert and I would like to have seen that from her. Not only is she a gifted actress, but I was told that she was the talent responsible for the spectacular painting effects on the stage that turned mere cardboard into polished marble columns.
The rest of the set was a little sparsely decorated for the Victorian era, but it was well-designed by Matt Boulter to give lots of entrances and exits and several different levels for the actors to use. And director Alex Barlow did a nice job of blocking the scenes so that there were several really nice “pictures” that drove home the emotions of the moment.
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The costumes designed by Mario Ayala really helped to tell the story as well. I noticed that in the beginning the costumes were rather simple and one-dimensional. As the show progressed the actors started wearing additional layers and more complex patterns that created a visual portrayal of depth in the characters as more and more elements of the characters’ pasts and personalities were revealed.
Overall, this was a fun show that still left me thinking about the more serious issues after all the laughing was done. An Ideal Husband really deserves a larger audience and I can’t wait to see more from the new Echo Theater in Provo.
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