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The
latest from SNAP Productions is "Three the
Hard Way," a spare, atmospheric,
four-person exercise in minimalist theater from
prize-winning playwright Linda Eisenstein.
Offered
at the Millennium Theater, this somber but often
amusing little play hits the right notes of both
realism and surrealism as it presents three
sisters coping with the death of their colorful
but generally nonsupportive father, a single
parent who made and lost his living as a pool
hustler and cardsharp.
Don
Nguyen has done a fine job coaxing a smooth
ensemble effort from his actors, all of whom are
at ease in their roles. The ne'er-do-well dad,
appearing as a haunting presence, is nicely
essayed by Patrick Schwery, who conveys both the
world-weariness of Albert and his odd sense of
pride and diffidence.
The
three women are first rate. D. Laureen Pickle is
Kathleen, the most aggressive of the three,
arriving in Reno for the funeral and wake,
stopping along the way to play pool, her dad
chatting with her in a nonchalant, oblique
fashion from another dimension of reality.
Kathleen, divorced and single, mourns the lack
of femininity in her upbringing.
Erika
Hall plays a somewhat butch but still wistful
middle daughter, herself a gambler and pool
player. She is counterpart to her sisters and
critical of her lost father - tough, edgy, but
strangely appealing, too.
The
youngest daughter and the most conventional in
look and persona is Mary, beautifully realized
in a very naturalistic and touching performance
by Jennifer Gilg. She is genuinely distraught at
the loss of her last parent and less critical of
her dad's wayward lifestyle.
Eisenstein,
an Ohio-based playwright who has a large body of
work to her credit, achieves a mood of poignancy
but also of existential distress - the brooding
sense of death, of reverie and loss - but always
quickened with quirky humor and sudden laughs.
The
play is not at all leaden or depressing but has
the ring of true life to it. It is a fine
character study, with an absolute minimum of
props and no scenery - all the better to let the
actors shine.
The
work is disciplined, well constructed, sometimes
tart, sometimes sentimental but always of a
piece. One of the most impressive moments is the
presence, away from the lighting, of the dead
father, sitting apart on an apron of the
Millennium stage at the beginning of Act II,
with his face in his hands, slacks and T-shirt,
white socks - an unmoving figure of grief that
might have been carved by a classic Greek
sculptor. His haunting presence remains for a
long time.
The
lighting is harsh, Edward Hopper-like, adding to
the simplicity and directness of this work.
Transitions and intro scenes are punctuated by
classic jazz tunes on tape, featuring Weslia
Whitfield, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall and
others - a nice touch.
A
good cast, careful direction and a tight but
revealing text make this worth seeing.
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