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The Ensemble Theatre has produced some impressive work over the past two years, from modern and contemporary American classics to modern British farces. This group of ASU alumni and professors have shown a keen eye for material, and a professional attitude toward production. With their current production of Frank McGuinnis' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, something in that process has gone awry, and unfortunately for Director Kay Kirby, the result is an overlong production of an occasionally touching though overwritten script.
The subject matter has it's heart in the right place. Set in war-torn Beirut sometime during the past ten years, the play focuses on an American, an Irishman and a Brit who have been snatched from the streets by Islamic fundamentalist/terrorists and chained to a wall in a sparse, Arabic graffiti-laden cell with a water bottle, dirty bedding, a bowl, and the Bible and Koran as their only possessions. Despite their link of a common language, the three hostages have little in common, save for the will to survive. They do this by retaining their dignity, and relieving the humdrum existence of their lives with songs, skits, and occasional nationalistic skirmishes. The script, while a bit overlong and rambling in places, has the potential for some real revelation of character under extreme pressure.
Unfortunately, one weak link in this production throws the entire show into jeopardy. Despite great performances by Tim Hart as the thorny Irish journalist, Edward, and David Vining as the effeminate English professor, Michael, and Ms. Kirby's simple but effective direction, the play derails with the lackadaisical performance of Mike Prindiville as the spiritual center of the play, the American doctor, Adam. This character has been held hostage the longest, and his mental condition is the most frayed. The lines that the author gives Mr. Prindiville set him up as the most fragile of the three, and the one the audience should feel the most for. Mr. Prindiville, instead, gives a monotone performance that makes it impossible to feel this all-important sympathy, which then gives the other great actors little to work with in their discussions with or about Adam. This is all-too evident during a very important speech by Edward in the second act, where he describes Adam, and nearly none of the words used in the description match Mr. Prindiville's performance, thus undercutting the believability of Mr. Hart's character. While Mr. Hart and Mr. Vining give very commendable performances, the show itself is doomed without an interesting third to the trio to balance them.
Ms. Kirby, despite not cutting down the length of this longwinded show, has done an excellent job with the limited staging three chained men offered her. Would that she had found a way to draw more out of Mr. Prindiville, to salvage what turns into a laborious situation. Adding to the length of this play is some effective, though sometimes overused sound design including the use of one entire song at the start of the show that went on for far too long. Kudos go to Ron Bonanni's scenic and lighting design, as he is able to effectively turn this miniature stage into a very believable and imposing cell through cutaway walls and stark, yet emotionally effective, lighting.
When The Ensemble Theatre is on, they're impressive and enjoyable. When they're off, there is still room for enjoying what they do well, but this only goes to contrast even more the problems that they have encountered. With another actor in the role of Adam, this could easily have been a wonderful and effective show, but as it now stands, it's at turns interesting and tedious, not the best combination for a two hour and fifteen minute evening of theatre.
Production Details:
Someone Who'll Watch Over Me by Frank McGuinnis
The Ensemble Theatre
The Scottsdale Center for the Arts Cinema Space, Scottsdale
941-6941
May 15th-May 31st, 1998
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