STAGE REVIEW : Young Cast of ‘Summer and Smoke’ Needs Seasoning

In Tennessee Williams’ “Summer and Smoke,” the protagonists undergo remarkable transformations. By play’s end, the spinsterish, moralistic Alma becomes a loose woman, and the hunky, hedonistic Dr. John takes a walk on the saintly side.

These changes might seem incredible, if not ridiculous, were it not for Williams’ rich language and intuitive feel for complex people. He’s the master of making the preposterous seem human, genuine.

But “Summer and Smoke,” despite its resonance, is still a tipsy journey between insight and conceit. As much as any of Williams’ plays, it depends on sophisticated direction and mature, nuanced acting to tip the scales in the right direction.

The young cast that opened a 5-day run Wednesday night at Chapman College just isn’t ready for it. This self-conscious production can be chalked up to greenness.

Even professionals with the life experiences to understand Alma and John face dangers. These are characters who, in their own opposite ways, verge on hysteria throughout “Summer and Smoke.” Tapping into their compulsions is no stroll.

Alma, like most of Williams’ heroines, is swaddled in affectations--they are the signposts of intelligence, self-absorption, deep feelings, weakness, fragility. In Alma’s case, they’re also the indications of her closeted sexuality. The poor woman gets downright squirmy at the notion of “physical love.”

Then there’s John, who gets squirmy at the notion of doing without it. He’s a glorious presence in the town of Glorious Hill, Miss., flirting with the women with Ivy League intelligence and brothel boldness. Too many easy victories make Alma irresistible to John; her purity and obvious fraility both tease and torment him. He wants her soul as much as her bod.

But at Chapman, Alma is not much more than a tightly corseted bundle of nerves. She’s affected, all right, so much so that the characterization veers toward caricature. Her presence tells us there’s a lot going on inside, but it’s hard to pick up the interior dialogue.

John is also limited. At Chapman, he needs to show more desperation over his own internal struggle. His eroticism is, after all, a weapon against the narrow society he lives in. We should feel that and, more important, see his buried morality early on. Without that, his transformation may be unbelievable.

In a production full of uneasy scenes, the comic meeting of the local “intellectual society” run by Alma is done with some agility. Director Iris Kemp-Blair Gerbasi and her players bring drollness to it as the society argues whether William Blake was a drunk or not and then wonders whether the weather is too oppressive to hear one of the member’s oppressive verse plays.

Craig Brown’s set, although somewhat sprawling, provides a good space for the action on the Waltmar Theatre’s broad stage. Gerbasi’s period costumes and Ron Coffman’s lighting are also effective enough.

‘SUMMER AND SMOKE’

A Chapman College production of Tennessee Williams’ drama. Directed by Iris Kemp-Blair Gerbasi. With Rochelle Lane, Mark Highleyman, Kindra Spohn, Travis Lee Westfall, Andrew De Angelo, Kristin Westland, Gina Veltri, Stacey Westbrook, Jeffrey Shaw, Michael Baker, Amy Bradley, David Dahl, Elizabeth Ward, Jonathan Klein, Dave Janssen and Harris Van Cleef. Set and sound by Craig Brown. Lighting by Ron Coffman. Costumes by Iris Kemp-Blair Gerbasi. Makeup by Gina Veltri. Plays today and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Waltmar Theatre, 333 N. Glassell St., Orange. Tickets: $3 to $5. (714) 997-6812.

‘SMOKE’ CAPTION