THEATER REVIEWS : Poignancy Fuels Progress of ‘Foxfire’

Foxfire is a lichen that glows in the dark. It grows on dead, fallen trees, like the curse of the 20th-Century grows on those simple souls whose roots are deep in the hills of Appalachia.

As the darkness of modern progress slowly envelopes the hill folks’ once bright freedom to tend a few acres, to watch the seasons change, and the young grow to replace the old, to plant the hillside and keep the thread of family intact, one wonders if it is, in fact, progress. Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn’s “Foxfire,” at the Cabrillo Playhouse, examines that question with insight and compassion.

But there are more levels than that in the play. It’s also about aging and caring, about remembering and forgetting. And it’s about courage.

The Nations family has lived on its rocky hillside in Rabun County, Ga., for generations. Annie and Hector Nations raised three children there. Now they’re alone, the kids off to the outside world, breaking the chain.

Actually, Hector died five years earlier but is still the biggest part of Annie’s life. She sees him; she talks to him. And he talks back, just as he did during the squalls and the sunshine of their marriage.

Hector, never one to mince words, is unhappy about the prospect of Annie selling the place to fast-talking developer Prince Carpenter. Nor is he particularly tickled by youngest son Dillard’s suggestion that Annie sell and move to Florida with the $100,000 the sale would bring.

It’s clear in Austin Peay’s direction that he understands the emotional and ideological levels to be found in “Foxfire.” If there are moments that don’t have the energy they should have, if some of the bite of the verbal sparring between Hector and Annie is missing, along with a lot of the anger between Hector and Dillard, the basics are there, and the shape of the production is commendable.

Paul Vogler’s scenic design looks like an old-fashioned bit of business with its painted boards and foliage, and Ed Howie’s lighting design is generally too bright, but that all sinks into the background, overshadowed by a very perceptive performance by Penny Radcliffe as Annie.

Like the rest of the cast, she wisely doesn’t attempt the local accent, but she knows the grit and starch of this latter-day pioneer woman. Radcliffe is touching in her honest, bittersweet recollection of her life with Hector and effortlessly makes the personality changes in Annie as she begins to find her true self.

Leland Wayne is a capable Hector, edgy and sharp, but could have more variety and show more than he does of the genuine affection he has always held for Annie.

Tim Mull as country singer Dillard, after a very slow start of not picking up cues brightly enough, finds his speed and has some good moments with Annie, though he never seems to connect with Hector. His songs at a local concert and the simple melodies he sings quietly on the hillside are effective.

Judy Dudek is Holly, a local who has returned to teach, and has just the right flavor, even if her buoyancy might be held in check. Jeff Venanzi’s oily, chattering Prince is stereotypically on target, and C.T. Collins does well as the local doctor who attends Dillard’s birth in flashback.

The production is close to the intent of the playwrights, and its few misses don’t for a moment detract from the high quality of the writing.

* “Foxfire,” Cabrillo Playhouse, 202 Avenida Cabrillo, San Clemente. Wednesday-Saturday, 8 p.m. Ends Nov. 20 . $10. (714) 492-0465. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes. Penny Radcliffe Annie Nations

Leland Wayne: Hector Nations

Tim Mull: Dillard Nations

Judy Dudek: Holly Burrell

Jeff Venanzi: Prince Carpenter

C.T. Collins: Doctor

A San Clemente Community Theatre production of the drama by Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn. Directed by Austin Peay. Set design: Paul Vogler. Sound/light design: Ed Howie. Stage manager: James Gilson.