A COMEDY BY THE SILVERY MOON
REVIEW: AH, WILDERNESS!
BY RYAN LUÉVANO
Explore the humor of playwright Eugene O’Neill in A Noise Within Theatre company’s revival of his 1933 play Ah, Wilderness! The play represents, as O’Neill put it, the “other side of the coin” regarding his work. It’s his only comedy in the sea of tragic visions that populate his oeuvre including: Mourning Becomes Electra, Days Without End, Long Day’s Journey into Night and The Iceman Cometh.
Deborah Strang (Essie) and Matt Gall (Richard). Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz.
Of Ah, Wilderness! O’Neill is noted saying that writing it came too easily, perhaps because the play is a fantasy play about what he wished his family life was like. In reality, O’Neill’s family life was miserable and more in line with the narratives of this more well known plays. And, as comedy plays go, Ah, Wilderness may be far from a laugh out loud evening of theater; however, it’s still ripe with characters and situations that director Steven Robman fully exploits by bringing humor through familiarity of situations and people.
Similar to O’Neill’s later semi-autobiographical tragic masterpiece, Long Day’s Journey into Night, the play is set in the same place and period: a small New England town in the early 1900s. Ah, Wilderness is centered on seventeen-year-old Richard’s first experience with love and his desire to rebel against society’s customs. The play is made up of several stock characters and situations; the cast includes a clumsy Irish servant, the drunk uncle, the old maid aunt, the college athlete, and the parents who are oblivious about the lives of their children, but eventually find a way to understand their children better. Given the hodgepodge of characters, and the playground that Robman’s setup at the Noise Within Theatre, audiences are in for an an experience that intrigues and delights.
Deborah Strang (Essie) and ensemble. Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz.
One of many recurring motifs in the play is the various stimulating drunken scenes. And of all the drunks in the play, Alan Blumenfeld who plays uncle Sid Davis is the king of the inebriates. From the moment Blumenfeld stumbles onto the stage for the dinner scene in the first act, he is the center of attention and an uproarious dinner guest—you get the sense of being at the table while a drunk relative makes a fool of himself.
Deborah Strang as Essie the doting mother hen is a treat to watch as she realizes this motherly character and never fails to find the perfect moments to deliver O’Neill’s witty quips that are sprinkled throughout. Matt Gall, who plays the radical, poet and lover Richard Miller, is sensational—a fine blend of stoic line delivery and unabashed farcicality. Miller jets around the stage like a wild bird that’s lost his way; he lets nothing get in the way of his quest to find his love under the silvery moon. Richard’s love interest Muriel (Emily Goss) offers an enchanting portrayal of a young lady in love—strong, yet still as effervescent as her suitor.
Emily Goss and Matt Gall. Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz.
Additionally, this production of Ah, Wilderness! is elegantly punctuated by various musical performances of songs from the Golden Age of Music Hall, giving us a true sense of the twentieth-century pastimes such as music making in the home. The play opens with a lilting waltz tune, “Waltz Me Around Again, Willie” sung by the whole family around the piano. Ian Littleworth (Arthur Miller) displays his sweet tenor voice in the second act with performances of two other songs from the period.
O’Neill’s Ah Wilderness! is a charming play that provides a glimpse back to simpler times where family singing, playing in the front yard, reading poetry, and passing love notes was the norm and the Fourth of July was the greatest day of the year.
Performances:
Sunday, March 19 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Sunday, April 9 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Saturday, April 15 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Thursday, April 20 at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 21 at 8:00 pm (Conversations-post show)
Sunday, May 14 at 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm
Friday, May 19 at 8:00 pm (Conversations-post show)
Saturday, May 20 at 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Tickets and information:
Online www.anoisewithin.org
Phone 626-356- 3100 ex 1
Prices Single Tickets start at $25
Student Rush with ID, one hour before performance $20.00
Groups 10 or more — adults from $25/ticket; students from $18/ticket
Pay What You Can Performance – Thursday March 9 at 7:30 pm– on sale at box office on day of performance beginning at 2:00 pm; sold cash-only, based on availability; limit two tickets per person.
