Some of you may remember Andy Griffith in the classic by Ira Levin, "No Time For Sargeants." Last weekend our own Eva Dewer Dazzler killed in four different roles in said play.
As Inductee, he was tall, dark, handsome, and laconic, the epitome of a dangerous, lady killer, cowboy. (The woman sitting beside me nearly melted to the floor upon his first appearance.
As the Testing Corporal (the Don Knotts character, you may recall) Eva was a mass of jittery, fingertapping nerves as he tested Will Stockdale's dexterity at magic rings. No one who has heard Eva speak in his normal manly voice would believe him capable of the strident, tightly strung, all around bundle of nerves we were fortunate to see Saturday night. One had to see it to appreciate it.
As the inspecting Colonel he put the fear of God into Will, St. King, and a full house--overflowing actually--audience of theatergoers.
In this reviewer's opinion, though, Eva's rendition of the navigator, Col. Cover, was the piece de resistance. His back to the audience, he worked his direction-tracking-and-- calculating-apparatus masterfully, muttering, puzzling, insisting that what the plane was flying over, although it looked looked to the rest of the flight crew amazingly like dry land, was actually the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. And he waved the Atlas to show it was true.
The time (2 hours) flew by as the rapid-paced comedy garnered one belly laugh after another.
At ten bucks for old people and students and twelve for normal adults, this show is a bargain you really must see. The perfect hectic, hilarious, howler to usher in spring in Atlanta.
This reviewer's poor skills are unable to do justice to these barrier breaking performances; suffice it to say that this geriatric pair will make the 3 hour trip again next Saturday to see the closing night performance.
We may never again be so lucky as to be in on the birth of what must surely become a cult classic amongst the cognescenti. 30 BB
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17 comments:
I had no idea he was even in a play and am quite impressed. I am sure he would do very well, but I can't quite imagine the details. Wow. Congratulations, guy! Super cool.
My earlier comment did not convey how enthralled I am at Eva Dewer's involvement--to such a degree--in the play. I guess I just don't know how to do so. I am truly impressed. Maybe two postings will get the message across.
Thanks for the kind comments. I'm really having a good time doing this. We've got our final performances this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'm already looking to see when I can do another one with this company, or another local one.
Sunday? I thought Saturday was the final, church on Sunday, etc.
Oops. I meant Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Wow. How is it that I didn´t hear about this sooner? Congratulations, I can imagine that the performance(s) were indeed superb.
Damn damn damn. I'll bet it was great. I'm so envious!
I´m guessing that Agatha´s referring to the timely use of sharp improvisational skills after somebody´s fuckup (good when it´s your own, even better when it´s someone elses). As Andy might say, "Ahm proud ah ya." My congratulations on a successful run; wish I had been there.
Really.
After further investigation of the past comments to this post, I retract the first half of my third to last comment (including this one). The rest still applies.
To paraphrase the late Mr. Carson, of Chevy Chase (supposedly): I couldn't adlib a fart at a baked bean dinner. I'm working on it, though.
I wish you could have been there, too. I'd really like to have had your input as it went along to improve myself.
"No Time For Sargeants" Closes
(with apologies for bathos)
The boards are silent, the final curtain's fallen.
No more barracks teasing, no bar-room rowdy dowdy.
Where fans once vied for better seats and laughter filled the hall,
Christians sit politely, singing hymns and holding palm fronds.
But, when the preacher pauses,
Bend an ear toward the choir loft,
And like a dream of Thespus you will hear,
An echo of a whisper, riding pale Palm Sunday sunlight,
Or perhaps you'll just imagine,
Will's lament.
Hel oooooo.....
Roger Wilco Over and Out
That was really wonderful. I think I'll cry now.
On the contrary, I think you have more natural instincts for performance than the rest of us. What remains is just body control, something I never mastered. I´m still working on it. Man do I hafta take a dump!
re: Body Control - Do you have any good books to recommend on the topic? I think that's the hardest part of being out there. I feel like my hands and feet are in the way all of the time, and never know what to do with them...
Of course you feel as if your hands and feet are in the way all of the time: they are!
What the King said is essentially true. However, any book on acting with stuff on object work would help, although I recommend simply paying close attention to what you do with your body in everyday life. Try to achieve that feeling of insecureness regularly when you´re not on the stage, and the next time you are, remember it. Then try to throw it away.
Thinking of everything as object work helps a great deal. Being focused on your motivation (what you want from the other character for example), even when you haven´t a thing in your hand.
But still, you then of course have to forget it all and just listen, listen. listen. There´s nothing worse to watch in a theater than someone who isn´t listening to those around him.
Then of course there are books by Stanislawki. Hope this helps.
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