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In 1975, near the end of his illustrious career, Tennessee Williams worked with Marshall Mason, who would later become an ASU Drama professor and New Times theatre reviewer. In 1983, Mr. Mason, who has won many Obie awards (including his first for the re-staging of Mr. Williams' "Battle of Angels"), promised Mr. Williams that he would direct an updated version of the work "The Night of the Iguana". Mr. Williams died in an untimely fashion soon after, but thirteen years later Mr. Mason has remembered his promise, and has made it the first show that he has directed at ASU.
"The Night of the Iguana", which is famous for its screen version starring Richard Burton and Ava Gardener, is typical of Williams' overheated character studies. T. Lawrence Shannon, a former Episcopal priest-turned-world-travel-guide, arrives with his charges at the rundown Alcapulco hotel of a mentor and his younger wife. The mentor has recently died, but the widow is more than willing to take Shannon in as a replacement. Shannon is being pursued by demons threatening to drag him back to his alcoholism, and is under fire by the female members of his tour group for having seduced a seventeen year old member. While his life crumbles around him, a mysterious woman and her ancient grandfather arrive at the hotel looking for a place to stay while he recites his poetry and she sketches the guests for a fee. It is this mysterious woman, a Nantucket spinster with demons of her own, that gets in the way of the widow's intended ensnarement of Shannon.
While it is not Williams best, it is an interesting work when done correctly. The changes and updates that Mr. Mason does to the script, such as bringing it to November 9, 1989 (the day the Berlin wall fell) are interesting, and well-worth a new production. It is not Mr. Mason's reworkings and direction that fail to sustain the promise, nor the wonderful scene design by Jeff Thomson or lighting design by Paul Black, but simply his casting.
As the important, ever-present central character, Erik Leeper's portrayal of Shannon was unbelievably bad. When not fumbling for lines and dropping cues, he was doing a credible, though inappropriate, imitation of Matthew Perry, who plays the character Chandler on the NBC sitcom "Friends." Whether intentional or accidental, this is so wrong a choice for a character in the midst of a mid-life crisis that it unintentionally bordered on the hilarious. His character's long, prosaic ramblings were choppy, hastily delivered and mangled by his seeming lack of memorization. Singlehandedly, Mr. Leeper dragged what could have been a good production into the abyss, carrying two wonderful and several credible performances with him.
The two standouts were the always wonderful Darby Lynn Totten as the interloping Nantucket spinster Charlotte Goodall, and Deron Bos as her 97 year old grandfather, Jonathan Coffin. Allowances should always be made for actors in their teens and twenties having to portray characters twice and three times their own ages, but both of these actors gave full and rich performances of these difficult characters. Ms. Totten commanded the stage whenever she was on, and even when not the focus, her busywork was sometimes more interesting than the main action. She has a wonderful gift for remaining in character from the moment she enters until the lights fade, and with even a merely competent actor playing Shannon, would have single-handedly made the evening a delight. Despite her great power, and the textured performance of Mr. Bos in the role of the fading grandfather, it made Mr. Leeper's performance look only that much worse.
As always, the amazing set, featuring five rooms and the patio of the decaying Costa Verde hotel, was breathtaking, and the effects that led to the Act One finale thunder storm were the envy of all professional theatres. The only technical problem of the evening was Doug Leonard's sound design, which had music over dramatic moments in the show (in an ironically filmic and television-style) that tended to overpower the actors voices.
Mr. Mason's heart was in the right place. This show's changes are worthwhile and have the right to be given a solid performance to allow this classic new life. Unfortunately, with the limitations of an educational theatre, namely students in hard roles, this was one promise that was ultimately unfulfilled.
Production Details:
"The Night of the Iguana" by Tennessee Williams
Arizona State University
Galvin Playhouse, Tempe 965-6447
February 23rd-March 2nd, 1996
I can be reached for comment via e-mail at: mspt@asu.edu
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