Citizen-Times...
BG--
Theater review: North Carolina Stage strikes gold with "Stones in His Pockets"
Tony Kiss • TKiss@CITIZEN-TIMES.com • published March 12, 2009 10:39 am
ASHEVILLE “Stones in His Pockets” rocks at North Carolina Stage Company. For a second time, this Asheville theatre hits the mother lode with this comedy-drama about a little Irish village, besieged by a crew of Hollywood moviemakers who have turned the place on its ear.
The show, written by Marie Jones, again stars Charles McIver and Scott Treadway, handling a variety of roles, but mostly playing two blokes who are extras on the movie. McIver and Treadway have become Asheville’s acting dynamic duo, with a unique back-and-forth chemistry much needed for this type of show. Director Christopher Burns makes the most from this acting electricity.
“Stones” seems even timelier than its previous production three years ago, with its underlying theme of economic upheaval, and people being “dispossessed” from their homes and land. The Hollywood movie makers are pouring big bucks into this town – for now – but soon they’ll be gone, leaving the locals to again fend for themselves. And with St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, “Stones,” well, that’s just as lucky as a four-leaf clover.
Jake (McIver) and Charlie (Treadway) meet on the set of this movie epic. The men have different stories – Charlie is a bit of a schemer, forever trying to get someone on the movie to look at his screenplay. Jake is more laid back, just back from the states and uncertain of what lies ahead. These two characters would make a fine play themselves – and as the show unfolds, we learn much more about what makes them tick.
But Treadway and McIver have much more work at hand, each transforming into different characters with just a magical spin of their bodies. Treadway has a nice bit of gender-bender performance as Caroline Giovanni, the American movie star, while McIver’s best moments come in a brief turn as cousin Sean, the ne’er-do-well extra, and also as feisty old Mickey, “one of the last surviving extras” from the John Wayne Irish movie “The Quiet Man.”
Among the best moments: the actors play boys dreaming of their lives ahead, and later, do a superb, if silly, dance routine.
The ability of Treadway and McIver to pull this off is worth the price of admission alone; really, any pairing of the two would be worth the money. It is truly a testament to their superb acting abilities. Equally intriguing is the “Stones” script, which might be comedy with powerful moments, or perhaps drama with some laughs. Either way, it works.
“Stones in His Pockets” by North Carolina Stage Company
When: 8 p.m. through Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Diana Wortham Theatre, Pack Place, Pack Square
How much: $25
Information: 257-4530
12 March 2009
Stones at DW
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
This is better than Mr. Kiss's last review posted here (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead). While it still left me uninformed about how much of the production worked, overall it contained more insightful comments about how the actors worked together and the way they interacted with the script.
While there is still plenty of room for informed analysis, I was pleasantly surprised by the relative quality of this review. I especially appreciated the mention of how the play fit into the broader fabric of our times. More than anywhere else, that started to get at the interesting "how" and "why" questions I am interested in seeing in a review.
Hi
http://www.loveinactioninc.com/ - generic levitra online
Levitra - No more ED
[url=http://www.loveinactioninc.com/]order levitra[/url]
Patients with diabetes or those who have undergone surgery for prostate cancer have a 70 percent success rate as reported by Levitra?s manufacturers.
vardenafil online
Other side effects are normally short-lived and mild and die away away as the body adjusts to the medication.
Post a Comment