For its inaugural production, Feet of Clay Theatre Company has chosen a challenging script, a 1935 blank verse drama entitled "Winterset" by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Maxwell Anderson. In its earnest and ambitious production about the famous Sacco-Vanzetti robbery and murder trials in Massachusetts in the 1920s, Feet of Clay has established itself as a company willing to take risks.
According to their mission statement, Feet of Clay is committed to "innovative and socially responsible theatre," and strives to bring theatre to minority and economically-disadvantaged communities. The group also plans to serve as a training and development ground for area theatre artists.
The cast features two of Feet of Clay's founding members, Michael Price as Judge Gaunt, who presided over the trials, and Jaime Carrillo, as Mio, the son of a convicted felon. Both Price and Carrillo have extensive theatre backgrounds and show promise in these two leading roles. Price excels at conveying the conflicting emotions that beleaguered the judge in the famous case, and Carrillo renders a realistic and gut-wrenching portrayal of a man who believes his father was wrongly sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.
Newcomer Hugh Owen, a recent arrival from England, makes his American acting debut in "Winterset". Owen exhibits a commanding and fascinating stage presence, and he is a welcome addition to the Washington, D.C. theatre scene. Other supporting cast members acquit themselves equally well in a variety of roles. Costume designer Robyn Shrater Seeman outfits the various characters who populate a dingy Brooklyn street in eclectic and innovative ensembles.