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While the first act is quite comical, I would label Ganesh a heavy drama. Tackling homosexuality, cancer and death, this play is ultimately about acceptance.
We meet Margaret Civil at the airport. Her friend, Katharine Brynne or Kitty, arrives late with a ton of bags, one of which she leaves behind as the plane takes off. Katharine Brynne appears to be happy-go-lucky but we quickly learn that she is still trying to deal with the beating death of her son. Margaret Civil, as the name would imply, is uptight and controlled. She has not told anyone she has cancer.
And then there is the omnipresent Ganesha, an elephant headed Hindu god who is the patron of learning and the queller of obstacles. Ganesh is our tour guide, our narrator, and some times our Greek chorus as he takes part in the ladies' trip, influencing events along the way. He is there on the wing of their plane as they fly to India. Ganesh even enters the bodies of people the ladies come in contact with: a Japanese housewife, a puppet master, an India maid. Whether tears or laughter, Ganesh revels in the experience that unfolds; it is all life and he excepts all equally.
Arizona Theatre Company garnered a wonderful who's-who cast. Betsy Palmer, legend of early TV and film, presented flawless performances as Margaret. Penelope Windust as Kitty took us to the edge of every emotion. She deserves a stand ovation and a Calgon bath after each wrenching performance. John Walcutt had the massive task of playing many different side characters (airline agent, young man dying of AIDS, a leper), many with different accents and he filled each character uniquely.
But the show stopper has to be David Paul Francis as the rotund and jolly Ganesha. He truly embraced this god and brought its magic to life. He too was asked to play side characters, from a Japanese hotel guest to Indian train servants, all the while still being Ganesha with his elephant head. This was a great director's choice and my hat goes off to Andrew J. Traister.
My problem with A Perfect Ganesh is not with the talent, production elements (set and costumes were great!), or direction. It is the play itself. Unfortunately the actors and director can only go so far with a diluted script.
The first act of Terrence McNally's quest is presented as most contemporary plays. Ganesh repeated breaks down the "fourth wall" and talks to the audience and there are some fantasy sequences, but the audience can follow these devices.
In the second act, I got lost. Death and despair hang heavy in the air. Katherine finally begins to grieve her son. Margaret reveals her cancer. They take a trip down the river where the Parsi leave their dead, corpses bumping into their boat. Then we learn from Ganesha that Kitty's husband has died back in Connecticut but she will not know until she arrives home. The women return home, Kitty in her bed alone while Margaret and her husband settle in separate beds. Margaret seems at peace with herself and her life. Kitty appears to be at the bottom of a major transition period of her life. The End.
The audience is left confused. Did I miss something? There was no through thread, no realized resolutions. Some will say McNally wanted the audience to come up with their own conclusions. First, we have to know what the play was about! I kept hearing this play is about acceptance. So was McNally telling us life is like a rollercoaster; it sucks and then you move on? I didn't need to sit there for 2 hours and 45 minutes for that.
I think McNally wrote the piece for himself. Whatever he experienced during his own travels to India is untranslatable. Some things cannot be explained or shared. One's personal spiritual experience is one such thing. This is one of those "You had to be there..." plays. If you don't know the inside story, it has no meaning to you. I think audiences give writers too much credit when they assume they were the ones that must have missed something. Sometimes, it is the playwright and I believe in this case McNally was unable to communicate to the audience.
If nothing else, A Perfect Ganesh provides insight into the cultural differences between Western and Eastern society. I would recommend A Perfect Ganesh to anyone interested in India, sociology, or actors who want to see fine performances. The production elements were once again ATC top rate, but I found the play too self- indulgent.
A Perfect Ganesh runs through May 5 at the Herberger's Center Stage. Call 252-TIXS for show times and tickets.
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