Reviewed by Tony Annicone
Renaissance City Theatre Inc., the producing entity of Granite Theatre’s third show of their 19th season is “The Curious Savage” by John Patrick. We are transported back in time to 1950 where evil stepchildren send their philanthropic stepmother into a sanitarium because she wants to give their father’s 10 million dollars to charitable endeavors. It sounds more like something that would happen in our turbulent society of today. Ethel Savage is a kindly woman meets nicer people here than in her own family. The inmates (as they are called) include Hannibal, who believes he’s an accomplished violinist; Jeffrey, who was an airplane pilot in World War II and thinks his face is scarred; Florence, who carries a doll with her because of a tragic incident in her past; the plain-Jane, Fairy May who thinks she’s a beauty queen; and Mrs. Paddy who was told to shut up and never utters a word except to complain about things she hates. We observe how Ethel tries to outwit her greedy stepchildren, how she deals with her new roommates and how a doctor and nurse might be her salvation. The audience roots for Ethel to succeed in her quest because of all the negativity of the current times. We definitely need more positive and heartwarming stories like this in our lives these days. Director Jude Pescatello casts this heartwarming comedy splendidly and the audience enjoys and savors every moment of it. He mixes the comic and dramatic moments together perfectly, eliciting tears from the audience at the well written ending. I have many fond memories of this show as it was my first straight show in community theatre for Warwick Players back in 1979 when I played Hannibal.
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