Reviewed by Judy Richter
The premiere of "Curse of
the Starving Class"
30 years ago launched playwright Sam Shepard into the pantheon of major
American playwrights. American Conservatory Theater, which has twice staged his
"Buried Child,"
now tackles "Curse" for the first time -- with noteworthy results.
Directed by Peter DuBois, "Curse" is a searing look at a dysfunctional family on a
downward trajectory.
Loy
Arcenas' scenery
sets the tone right away. The kitchen of a rundown house is surrounded by a yard
littered with junk and a barren landscape that we later learn is in Southern
California. However, Japhy Weideman's lighting, depicting a sunrise as the curtain rises,
hints at the beauty that creates some sense of hope in the main characters.
(The costumes are by Lydia Tanji, and the music and sound are by Fabian Obispo.)
The
family is headed by Weston (Jack Willis), a drunken ne'er do well who broke down the door
to the house the night before. His wife is the long-suffering Ella (Pamela
Reed, who played
the daughter, Emma, in the premiere production). Their children are the teenage
Wesley (Jud Williford) and his younger sister, Emma (Nicole Lowrance). It's no coincidence that the
children's names so closely resemble those of their parents, for the younger
generation seems doomed to follow in their missteps.
The
central conflict arises when each parent tries to sell the house unbeknownst to
the other. Ella wants to take the money, go to Europe and start a new life.
Weston wants to pay off debts and start anew, too. Unfortunately, their
inherent character flaws, along with past mistakes, are too much to overcome.
Even more unfortunately, the two children are victims, too.
Shepard
loads the play with symbolism, especially the beat-up old refrigerator that each
character opens again and again in hopes of finding something to eat. When
Weston returns home after a binge, he brings only thorny, hard to eat
artichokes. A cute live lamb, which can symbolize both innocence and sacrifice,
also figures into the story, but the actors are strong enough not to let it
upstage them.
Shepard's
language sometimes seems more poetic than one might expect from such people.
And in the hands of less talented actors, it could become deadly, but DuBois
and his actors avoid the pitfalls. Willis is roaring and volatile when Weston
is drunk, yet becomes calm and domestic, serenely folding the family's laundry,
when he gets sober and cleans up. Reed's Ella is a somewhat concerned mother
who's easily duped by a smooth-talking lawyer, Mr. Taylor (Dan Hiatt), who says he represents
developers who want to buy the property. Lowrance becomes a bit shrill in some
of headstrong Emma's screaming tirades, but one can't blame her for being angry
after her mother cooks the chicken that was to be part of a 4-H project and her
brother urinates on the charts she had prepared for it. She's also just started
her first period.
Williford
has perhaps the most complex role as Wesley, who starts out as an older brother
who teases his sister, detests his father's behavior and tries to undo some of
his father's damage. In later scenes, however, one sees him tragically morphing
into his father. Williford even imitates some of Willis' distinctive manner of
speaking.
Besides
Hiatt as the lawyer, the supporting cast includes Rod Gnapp as Ellis, the bar owner who buys
the house from Weston; Craig Marker as the California Highway Patrol officer who arrests Emma
after she tries to get the purchase money from Ellis; and T. Edward Webster and Howard Swain as the two giggling thugs who
wreak havoc in their efforts to collect debts from Weston.
In
her program notes, ACT artistic director Carey Perloff cites comments that Weston makes
to his son. In essence, Weston says that he saw everyone around him charging
things and using plastic to attain the good life. He concludes: "So I
figured if that's the case, why not take advantage of it? Why not go into debt
for a few grand if all it is is numbers?" Perloff notes that these
comments reflect what's happening in American society today as the housing
crisis deepens and the economy suffers. Nevertheless, she writes, "America
continues to be a place where people dream of staking out new ground, ...
creating new opportunities for their families."
And
as is the case with some families today, Shepard's "Curse of the Starving
Class" family finds only disappointment and disillusionment.
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