On Sunday, January 11, I saw Tuesdays With Morrie, presented by the Rivertown Players, Inc. at the Glenmore Playhouse in Cheviot Ohio. The play was presented by arrangement with The Drama Workshop who owns the playhouse. The performance I saw was the last of four.
It has taken me a while to process all the thoughts and emotions this play evoked. It is quiet but witty, a thoughtful, engrossing play about everyday life...loving, learning, living, dying. Whether I am reading a novel, nonfiction, poetry or looking at a painting, I am drawn to what encourages me to see or learn something deeper about the world around me. This play does this.
Kent Smith (Morrie Schwartz) and Ray Persing (Mitch Albom)
Kent and Ray look happy and they should. They have just received a standing ovation for their performance in Tuesdays With Morrie.
Kent, a good sized man, gave a convincing portrayal of a man gradually wasting away from Lou Gehrig's Disease ( ALS). He had to do this with voice and hand actions while barely moving from one spot on the stage.
Ray, portrays Mitch, a reporter intent on becoming the best by doing everything asked of him by his boss and forgetting about living a life of his own in the process. He ranges about the room as he reacts to Morrie's comments which seem outlandish during the first few visits. By the end of the play, Morrie, with witty and insightful conversation, has changed Mitch's mind about what is truly important in life.
Amanda Borchers was the director and Victoria Garcia was the producer. They did an admirable job of helping Kent and Ray to get into the skins of the men they were portraying. Stage manager was Jamie Haney.
If you look closely at the set below, you will note that the black background behind the set is of two shades. The center section is a fabric curtain. Victoria Garcia, (also the producer) playing the part of Mitch's new wife, sang "The Very Thought of You" from behind the curtain accompanied by pianist, Jeremy Stevenson. The song was a beautiful highlight. Lighting on the fabric illuminated the singer and pianist as silhouettes. The song brought a voice to the swirling emotions that had been gradually accumulating throughout the play.
Here are photos of quotes from Morrie Schwartz which were displayed in the lobby. Click on them to see a larger photo.
www.rivertownplayers.com
To learn more about the Glenmore Playhouse and The Drama Workshop, go to their website...
www.thedramaworkshop.org
I have this book and I have not read it yet:(
ReplyDeleteI had the book. My sister read it when she was visiting and said it was really good. I Still didn't read it and put it in an Amvet box for pickup several years ago. I'm thinking of getting a copy from the library.
DeleteRight now I am trying to read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. It is sort of a love-hate thing. I am over half way through it so maybe I'll finish it. I like to read "junk"---"who done its" that aren't too realistic and always come out OK in the end. Once in a while I Try to read something that's supposed to be Good.