Nan Alderson
(This article appeared in the February 16, 2006 edition of Taconic Weekend. Reprinted with permission of Gazette Advertiser.)
Nan Alderson reviews a bold and ambitious “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
“The Skin of Our Teeth”
Through Feb. 26, 2006
8 p.m. * Fridays and Saturdays
3 p.m. * Sundays
Cocoon Theatre
6384 Mill St., Rhinebeck
(845) 876-6470
Envision a play where one family survives the Ice Age, Noah’s Flood and an epochal war; where dinosaurs talk and backstage workers are drafted in playing noted philosophers; where the leading characters are simultaneously suburbanites from New Jersey and the Biblical “first” family; and you are sure to be in for an unusual evening of theater.
An ambitious and enjoyable production of “The Skin of Our teeth,” Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy/drama, is onstage through Feb. 26 at the Cocoon Theatre in Rhinebeck.
Cocoon Theatre holds its audiences to high standards, offering thought-provoking and challenging work that goes beyond the usual community theater fare (they are auditioning in April for Brecht’s “Galileo”). Despite the limitations of an intimate, multi-purpose facility and a cast of varying ages, theatrical experience and skills, the company acquits itself admirably in this production. The space is used creatively; the approach, if low-budget, is honest; and the result is an imaginative production.
The Antrobuses are the archetypal family, with a few twists; Mr. Antrobus is the inventor of the alphabet and the wheel, but struggles to keep faithful to his wife of 5,000 years; wife Maggie is eloquent (if dated) voice of womanhood who invented the apron but would burn volumes of Shakespeare to keep her family alive; son Henry/Cain grapples equally with his multiplication tables and his violent tendencies, while daughter Gladys fluctuates between pleasing her daddy and exploring her burgeoning sexuality. Lily Sabina is the Antrobuses’ saucy housemaid, a temptress but also a pragmatic survivor.
Lorna de Zengotita gives a spot-on performance as Maggie Antrobus, the steadfast matriarch who holds her family together through apocalypse after apocalypse. She listens and responds genuinely, crafting a warm and sympathetic, but undeniably strong, character. Doug Hoffman deftly balances the lofty, cerebral aspects of George Antrobus with his more earthly foibles, and handles his transitions from bombastic temper to calm introspection smoothly and believably. The scenes between Hoffman and de Zengotita are tender and wonderful to watch, particularly in Act III.
Equally delightful is Marinell Madden as Sabina. Madden has the lion’s share of direct address to the audience and handles it beautifully, never mugging or overplaying. She is attractive, energetic, precise in her timing and skilled in physical comedy, believably shifting from flirtatious to scheming to petulant without losing character.
The production is a “family affair” for Cocoon theatre directors Marguerite and Andres San Millan: Marguerite shines as the dark, intriguing Fortune teller and one of the Muses/refugees; Andres, who plays a “conveener” (Wilder's term for the convention-goers in the second Act) on roller skates and the Professor, is also the set designer for the show; Magdalene San Millan is Gladys Antrobus; Ezra San Millan portrays Henry/Cain; Ana-Miren San Millan plays a winsome dinosaur, among other characters; and even young Isabel San Millan appears as a “conveener.” Adolph Allers, Tracy Carney, Travis Grail-Bingham, Taylor Hurst, Jerry Regan and John LeFever round out the diverse cast, encompassing 21 roles among them.
Director Ellen Honig’s staging is comfortable and makes good use of the space, and the company’s focus on movement is put to good use, from the portrayals of the dinosaur and mammoth and the revels of the “conveener” to the Fortune Teller’s scenes.
Some of the climactic scenes are muddy and unfocused, though, such as the arrival of the refugees and the flood, and a few key points are lost (it is not clear that the refugees taken in by the Antrobuses include Moses, Homer and the Muses). Still, Honig creates a well-paced evening, and there is a nice sense of ensemble to the production.
Although the set shows good imagination and flexibility, it is somewhat drab and flimsy. However, the transformation of the space from one act to the next during intermission is fascinating to watch, and heightens one’s appreciation from all that is achieved scenically in the limited space. A number of costumes, such as the dinosaur and the mammoth, are charming and creatively realized; as with the set, though, a few show the pinch of a tight budget and schedule.
Audiences who enjoy an evening of off-the-wall and unexpected theater will be delighted with this bold production, and Cocoon Theatre is to be applauded for its efforts. (Theater-goers are advised that they will be required to remove their shoes at the door, as the space also serves as a dance studio, but clean slippers are provided at the door, or you may bring your own.)
Nan Alderson is a consultant with MMSC Solutions. In her misspent youth, she worked in regional theaters in Atlanta, Chicago, Virginia and Florida; she now calls New Paltz home.