In the shadow of ‘Dragons’
If anyone else had written Horton Foote’s “The Habitation of Dragons,” he might have been accused of being overwrought. However, Foote is a wily old hand -- not to mention a great theatrical humanist -- who seldom knows a false moment. The play’s current production at Actor’s Co-op crystallizes Foote’s central conceit: that life, a precarious blend of the epic and the everyday, can be shattered in an instant by calamity.
Set in the 1930s, “Dragons” takes place in the familiar Foote territory of Harrison, Texas. Leonard Tolliver (Durrell Nelson), a successful and happily married attorney, has one thorn in his side: his younger brother George (John Allsopp), a struggling attorney who can’t escape his sibling’s looming shadow.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. April 23, 2005 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday April 23, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 42 words Type of Material: Correction
“The Habitation of Dragons” -- In some copies of Friday’s Calendar section, a review of the play “The Habitation of Dragons” said that the role of Margaret was played by Rebecca Hayes, substituting for Amy Landers. The role was played by Landers.
Insensitive to George’s feelings, Leonard cruelly labels him one of life’s losers. As we realize, Leonard’s smugness translates into something very much like hubris, a failing that apparently offends the gods who oversee this desolate, hardscrabble landscape. The Greeks knew the perils of complacency. But Leonard, ignorant of all danger, is about to suffer a mighty fall.
Predictable plot twists and a certain obviousness are mitigated by Foote’s matter-of-factness, a juxtaposition of the routine and the terrible that proves more heartbreaking than any histrionics would have done.
Judging by this effectively restrained staging, director Cameron Watson has taken that lesson to heart. Stoical and well-meaning, these earthy Texans suffer with dogged restraint until their emotions finally overwhelm them, devastatingly.
Steve Cubine’s subtly shabby set, Brian Piatek’s lighting, Bryce Ryness’ sound, Terri A. Lewis’ costumes and John Swihart’s elegiac original music are all outstanding.
Among the terrific cast, Amy Landers is particularly wrenching as Margaret, Leonard’s erring wife. Bonnie Bailey-Reed is also wonderful as Leonard and George’s deceptively placid mother, Lenora. And Nelson renders his besieged paterfamilias with a close-to-the-bone spareness that is completely appropriate to this spare and masterly play.
*
‘The Habitation of Dragons’
Where: Actors Co-op, 1760 N. Gower St., Hollywood
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays
Ends: May 29
Price: $22
Contact: (323) 462-8460
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
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