Theater Review : Bringing Death to Life in ‘Spoon River’

Some of the magic in Edgar Lee Masters’ “Spoon River Anthology” is the universality of his incisive portraits of the turn-of-the-century citizens resting in Spoon River’s cemetery. People do not change, and Masters’ roll call could be read in any town today, anywhere.

The rest of the magic is not only in Masters’ insightful understanding of his own time and place, but especially in Charles Aidman’s fluid and quite theatrical stage adaptation of the original poems.

The five actors who portray the voices and personas of the more than three-score inhabitants of the cemetery in Vanguard Theatre’s production are mostly on the button as they switch from one memory to another.

The tone and shadings, with only a few moments that sound recited, have authenticity and conviction. Listed only as Actor One, Actor Two, etc., they are David Kinwald, Laurel Kelsh, Jennifer Majdali, Christopher Sullivan and Brenda Parks.

Aidman has put together the Masters poems--some in their entirety, others in segments--like a piece of music, and the actors must play it as such. It’s difficult for them to do so in director Susan Boulanger’s staging, even though she has choreographed it beautifully on Daniel Nyiri’s effectively simple block and incline setting, with the company looking comfortable in Donna Barth’s period-perfect costumes.

Each little biographical gem is here placed in its own setting, with emphatic pauses almost announcing that a new character is about to emerge. They should blend one into another, like the echoes of the dead wafting over the night air in the cemetery, insisting on their connections as well as on their individuality. Instead, they have lost the mystical effect Aidman intended.

The generally too-bright lighting design by Mark E. Pietrzak doesn’t help develop the atmosphere of a lonely twilight on a hilltop overlooking Spoon River. Songs, usually sung by the cast, in this production are restricted to a recorded, unaccompanied voice. They don’t have the effect of communal, aching hunger for the too-well-remembered past, nor for the forgiveness of sins recalled and the joys and anger too soon receding into the mist of final rest.

Masters’ characters are as real as the bones beneath the stones. The play Aidman built from them is as mystical as these voices should seem as they waft between and over the graves.

* “Spoon River Anthology,” Vanguard Theatre, 699-A S. State College Blvd., Fullerton. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 5 p.m.; No performance Easter Sunday. Ends April 22. $12-$14. (714) 526-8007. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

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David Kinwald: Actor One

Laurel Kelsh: Actor Two

Jennifer Majdali: Actor Three

Christopher Sullivan: Actor Four

Brenda Parks: Actor Five

A Vanguard Theatre Ensemble production of Charles Aidman’s stage adaptation of Edgar Lee Masters’ poetry, produced by Tony Masters. Directed by Susan Boulanger. Scenic design: Daniel Nyiri. Lighting design: Mark E. Pietrzak. Sound design: K. Robert Easton. Costume design: Donna Barth. Stage manager: Celine Charpaif.