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Beast on the Moon
By Richard Kalinoski
Directed by Tim Gregory
Produced by Provision Theater
At the Irish American Heritage Center
4626 N. Knox
Chicago, IL
Call 773-506-4429, tickets $25
Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm
Sundays at 3 pm
Running time is 2 hours with intermission
Through April 29, 2007
Armenian genocide comes to light in Beast on the Moon
Provision Theater’s, under Tim Gregory’s tight direction offers Beast on the Moon. It is a marvelously moving drama in which we witness two Armenian immigrants transcending their past in a new life in America. Set in Milwaukee in 1921, we meet Aram Tomasian (Levi Holloway) as he greets his new mail-order wife, the fifteen year-old Seta (Tiffany Scott) just arriving in America from a refuge camp in Europe. Aram is an up-tight Orthodox Armenian Christian who believes in the old Armenian traditions that have the husband dominant in a marriage. He uses the Bible to exact his dominance.
Seta is a vivacious teen, more of a little girl than woman, who finds everything Aram says funny in her innocence. Aram’s stiffness and formality and Seta’s laughter mask the terror and rage that the 1915 genocide the Turks committed against the Armenian minority resulting in the deaths of over 1, 000,000 Armenians. Both Aram and Seta’s families were wiped out leaving them as orphans.
The early scenes in Beast on the Moon where Aram is determined to have sex with his bride for the purpose of procreating a large family contain a mixture of humor and pathos. Seta hides in horror under the kitchen table as Aram is determined to get her into his bed. Eventually she tells him of the Turkish rape of her older sister making her frightened of men. Aram is gentle yet determined and the next few scenes are about Aram relentlessly wanting sex with Seta in order to get her pregnant. Unfortunately early childhood starvation renders Seta barren. This leaves Aram devastated as he tries to replace the family he lost.
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This well acted drama has Levi Holloway, in rich Armenian accent, as the seething stilted man trying to deal with his submerged rage while Seta uses humor, kindness and optimism to cope. When a local American orphan, Vincent (Oliver Kal) comes into their life, the healing process commences. This is a subtle, powerful and emotional story of survival, understanding of the pains and affects of war on those determined to start over. This is a rare story of emerging romantic love where tiny looks, gestures and winks convey love. A beautifully written, nicely paced story of hope and reconciliation unfolds. This ode to the human spirit needs to be seen. I’d advise mounting Beast on the Moon to high school students. Tiffany Scott is marvelous as the energetic and precious teen who grows into a strong and loving woman proving that we can overcome our past pains. Aram, with help from Seta and Vincent, comes to gripes with his rage. Beast on the Moon is a gem of a play putting a face on genocide. You’ll never forget Aram and Seta’s story. That is a noble accomplishment. Hurry; there are only a few performances left in this run (April 29).
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago pod cast
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2007
Jeff Recommended
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