Triumphant Debut
"Little Foxes" premiere was solid
By Lane Crockett
The Forum
crockettl@comcast.net
The June 29th audience at The Strand Theatre found out something: Shreveport and Bossier City have a bona fide professional theatre! The River City Repertory Theatre (RCRT) debuted its version of Lillian Hellman's classic drama of change, "The Little Foxes."
RCRT served notice that it could live up to its billing of "professional"—from the impressive set to the eye-catching and authentic period costuming, to the fluid staging to the, frankly, superb cast.
The cities have good amateur theatre, and now they have a good professional theatre. That's a wonderful embarrassment of riches for the cultural life.
Under Patric McWilliams' direction, this "Little Foxes" proved a riveting drama undercut with moments of satiric humor. And it looked grand on The Strand stage, which even lent it an engaging sense of theatricality.
Hellman's work is set at the turn of the 20th century in the South—a time that the South was beginning to make a shift from a strictly agrarian-based society to an industrial one. This is reflected in the play's characters, where some represent a fading graciousness while others inform of the focused, determined business class who generally will replace them.
At the core of the play are the Hubbards: brothers, Ben and Oscar and sister, Regina Giddens. They are a coming breed who built their first success on the mercantile trade and are now looking to expand by bringing in mills. A venal lot, the trio only thinks of what money will do for them, not what it might also accomplish for society. Director McWilliams reinforced that characterization by having the three always seeming to be grasping, whether that is holding on to a chair or a teacup or forcefully inhabiting space. The weaker ones—Oscar's beaten down wife, Birdie and Regina's ailing, conscience-stricken husband, Horace—are characterized by a soft gentility and a sense of futile desperation.
McWilliams created an almost claustrophobic production that pulled in the theatergoers with a set that sometimes seemed like a prison with its towering columns, oddly menacing staircase and well appointed but cold furnishings. This was not a house with love in it. Andrew Gibbs' muted, sometimes austere, lighting lent additional atmosphere.
Where the director best served the play was finding and keeping the balance Hellman created in writing it. Yes, this is an often nasty drama, but there are moments of humor, albeit pointed humor, that relieve tension and there are even brief moments of kindness between Birdie, Horace and Alexandra, the maturing daughter of Horace and Regina. McWilliams did an admirable job of juggling in creating the whole tapestry.
Propelling the play is a business negotiation to bring in the mills if the proper money is forthcoming. Ben and Oscar provide their share, but Regina has to convince Horace to put up a share, and therein lies a tragedy.
Anne Gremillion gave a star turn as the avaricious Regina who, from her early years, always wanted more but was sidelined by being female in an area of the country that viewed women as gracious homemakers. There could have been sympathy at one point for Regina had she not turned herself into a calculating, coldly insulated woman. Gremillion captured Regina's false sense of refinement that barely concealed the seething emotions of a bitter, disappointed woman. Like a coiled serpent, she moved about the stage, and when Regina allowed her husband to die by not immediately seeking aid when his heart started failing, Gremillion's immobile face was unnerving.
Ben Tyler, the production's Equity actor, was excellent as brother, Ben, who simply carried his mastery of playing games into a new era. Ben, like it or not, is a survivor, and that was exactly how Tyler played him. When he seems bested by Regina, he accepts it…for now. The actor's very smoothness and ease gave Ben credibility. Tyler's Ben knew how to land on his feet.
John Gayle registered a strong Oscar with his blustering creation of this follower (not a leader) brother. Short-tempered and overbearing, Oscar's solution to any problem is to try and steamroll over it, and the actor gave the audience a volcanic character always on the verge of erupting both physically and emotionally.
Another star turn came with Jodie Glorioso's downtrodden, Birdie. Like her character's name, the actress flitted about the stage like a bird caught in a trap. Birdie's charmed idea of life—the character came from a plantation family—is evaporating and she is ill-equipped to handle her crass husband and ne'er-do-well son, Leo. In her character's alcohol-induced breakdown in the second act, Glorioso broke audiences' hearts as Birdie wistfully admitted that she had never experienced one day of complete happiness.
Jim Montgomery registered strongly as Horace, a kind man who, like Birdie, is trapped by the Hubbards. In a battle of wills with Regina, Horace is foremost looking to protect and secure the future for his daughter and, in that battle, discovers to what extent he has meant little to his unloving wife. The actor's transition from a man holding out some hope to a man of resolve was quite well executed.
In major support were Logan Sledge as Leo and Jessica Maxey as Alexandra. Sledge's Leo was a nervous young man who alternated between ineptness and bravado, while Maxey's Alexandra was a girl struggling with dawning maturity and emotional upheaval as her immediate family was shredding at the seams. One liked the small things in the actors' performances, like Leo's habit of biting his thumbnail and Alexandra's penchant for playing arbitrator at the wrong times.
Rounding out the cast were fine performances from Angelique Feaster as Addie, the Giddenses' warm-hearted servant who sees it all and maintains; Edward Allen as Cal, the Giddenses' amusing manservant with a sense of practicality; and Bill Gallmann as William Marshall, the cultured, successful northern businessman who sets the play in motion with his proposition.
This was, indeed, a solid ensemble cast.
Across the board, RCRT's "The Little Foxes" was a good looking production, well crafted and executed. Potentially, the group is a great addition to the cultural fabric of the area, and one hopes support for the organization will follow as it seeks a permanent home.
