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Suddenly Last Summer
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Kevin Hagan
Produced by Shattered Globe Theatre
At Victory Gardens Greenhouse Theatre
2257 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL
Tickets: 773-871-3000 – $27 to $35 ($5 students/seniors discount)
Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm
Running time is 80 minutes with no intermission
Through October 27th
A Quaint Little Garden (in a Closet) in New Orleans
Set in an overgrown New Orleans garden of the 1930’s, Tennessee Williams’ Southern gothic, Suddenly Last Summer, recounts the story of poet Sebastian Venable’s mysterious death while traveling in Europe the previous summer with his young cousin Catherine (Allison Batty). Sebastian’s mother, Mrs. Venable (Linda Reiter), is determined to discredit Catherine’s version of the shocking events at any cost. She has already had Catherine confined to a mental institution for nearly a year and is now threatening to have her lo botomized unless she recants her tale.
So what’s so scandalous and so grotesque that Mrs. Venable is willing to go to such lengths to cover it up? Well, in 1930’s New Orleans what’s got genteel Southern aristocratic society abuzz is the whisper that Sebastian Venable is – you know – HO-MO-SEXUAL. That he was also a pedophile who used first his domineering mother and later his young cousin to lure his adolescent prey and that some ruffians ultimately turned on him and cannibalized his flesh is just icing on the cake. Only Tennessee Williams could write this purportedly, partially autobiographical drama. Williams knows exactly how to couch his language in Southern code to reveal the ghastly events. There can be a scandal, but there must never be the appearance of a scandal and these things cannot be talked about directly. The key to understanding the tale is knowing exactly where Williams’ minimal innuendo is and drawling it out until everyone can understand what cannot be spoken. Unfortunately, director Kevin Hagan seems not to know this and manages to leave the audience uncertain of the events leading up to last summer’s particulars in what is an otherwise thoroughly satisfying production.
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There is so much to like about the show that it is surprisingly easy to overlook this rather central flaw. Reiter is magnificent as the withering matriarch who is in love with her son and Batty convincingly portrays the drugged and terrified cousin. Her final scene revelation of the truth of Sebastian’s death is riveting. The intimate setting of Victory Gardens Greenhouse is perfect for the recreation of the New Orleans garden. Director Hagan designed a set which brings the audience right into the charming and realistic patio and sound designer Mike Tutaj subtly fills the decaying Eden with gulls flying by and sounds from nature. Unfortunately, Tutaj occasionally goes too far, allowing the sound effects – especially some thumping drums that I took to be Sebastian Venable’s failing heart – to move unsubtly from the background to a prominence that distracts. Overall, however, I thought that the sounds added a positive note.
Suddenly Last Summer is a play that is filled with metaphor and imagery and is a tour de force of complexity, especially for such a brief work. The one-act play runs a mere 80 minutes, whizzing by toward its stunning conclusion. I would like to have seen a production that brought Sebastian out of the closet a bit more and which shone a bit stronger light on Mrs. Venable’s twisted passion and her truly loathsome nature. Even without the extra depth, the play is just so good and Reiter and Batty so engaging, that Suddenly Last Summer is a must see.
Highly Recommended
Randy Hardwick
randyontheglobe@yahoo.com for comments
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2007
Jeff Recommended
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