Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Epic Theatre Company’s first show of 2020 is Tennessee William’s “Suddenly Last Summer.” This one act show is set in 1936 in the New Orleans garden of the home of wealthy Violet Venable. It begins after the death of a young man away on a holiday. She speaks nostalgically about her late son, Sebastian to her guest, a doctor. Her son was a poet who died under mysterious circumstances in Spain the previous summer. His mother has put his memory up on a pedestal. The only witness to Sebastian’s demise was her niece, Catherine who has been under psychiatric care at St. Mary’s asylum since then. Violet wants her son’s reputation preserved from her niece’s revelation of his violent and lurid death that might reveal a family secret. The wealthy woman wants to protect her son at any cost and the change it might bring about might not be the one she wants or expects. When everything is revealed the consequences for past actions rear their ugly head and once again the downtrodden are marginalized by the haughtiness of wealth and position. Director Geoff Leatham casts these seven roles splendidly. He gives them the insight into each of William’s finely drawn characters and obtains the depth each role calls for. A gut wrenching finale of the show leaves every performer and audience member in tears.
Becky Minard does a dynamic job as the overprotective mother, Violet, who runs roughshod over her maid and every visitor who enters the scene. She displays the strength of the character, who despite having physical ailments intends on protecting her son at all costs – even if it means destroying the life of her husband’s sister’s niece who took Violet’s place on her son’s last summer to do so. Violet tries to bribe Dr. Sugar (Cukrowicz) into performing an operation on her niece that will silence her once and for all. Betsy Rinaldi delivers a tour-de-force performance as Catherine, the supposedly mentally unbalanced girl who might be more well balanced then one suspects. Her interactions with her caretaker nun, her mother and brother and with the doctor are stunning to behold. Both Catherine and Violet are extroverted people while Sebastian was more shy around new people on these trips. The women made friends for the poet on their trips and on the last one, tragic events took place when the poet fell ill and when Catherine tried to help him, things fell apart with horrifying results. The description of these events is brilliantly delivered by Betsy as the whole ensemble dissolves into tears.
Alvaro Beltran plays the patient doctor who must elicit the story from Violet
and the true story from Catherine. He delivers the goods as this patient and
caring physician who cares more about his patient then he does about bribery
money. Playing Catherine’s mother is Michelle Mania who does an excellent job
as her doting mother who also cares about the inheritance of the Venable’s.
Nick D’Amico does a great job as her brash and rude brother, George who only
seems to care about the 100 grand inheritance they are supposed to receive.
However both family members are shocked at the details of last summer that are
finally explained to one and all.
Rounding out the cast are Paula Glen as Sister Felicity who takes care \ of
Catherine wonderfully and Carolyn Coughlin as Miss Foxhill, Violet’s long
suffering maid who obeys her every whim and command. They both do a great job
with their roles. So to see a rarely done drama that still resonates with
current day audiences about man’s inhumanity to man and about how wealth and
power should not be used to abuse or take advantage of those less fortunate, be
sure to catch “Suddenly Last Summer”, a riveting drama at Epic
Theatre Company where you will witness marvelous acting by one and all.
SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER (10 to 25 January)
Epic Theatre Company, Artist’s Exchange, 50 Rolfe Square,
Cranston, RI
1(401)490-9475 or www.artists-exchange.org/events
