Cast in 'All Seasons' simply shines
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
by Joan E. Vadeboncoeur
Entertainment Columnist, SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD
"A Man for All Seasons" seldom sees the lights of a local stage. It can call for lavish sets and costumes. More importantly, it demands excellent actors. Simply New Theater's John Nara has assembled a cast that is up to the challenge, so much that it survives a spartan mounting.
Robert Bolt's drama focuses on Sir Thomas More, a man of unbending principles and complete devotion to God. His supreme test comes when King Henry VIII decides he must divorce his wife, Catherine, who has failed to produce an heir to the throne.
Many side with More until the tragic end, although some drop by the wayside as the tension elevates. Weaving his way through the drama is Matthew, a money hungry servant to More, who also doubles as a boatman and a jailer. In all guises, he is the pragmatist.
Amazingly, the king is barely depicted. He's not the most significant man since his stance never changes. But there is Cromwell, the schemer. And loyal to More is the Duke of Norfolk, who attempts to persuade his friend to modify his position, and the grasping, ambitious Richard Rich. On the family front, there is wife Alice, who cannot bear the descent into poverty, and daughter Margaret, more educated than other young woman and in love with a heretic who has a change of heart.
The portrait of More by Michael O'Neill is a revelation from an actor who has never had to reach the heights he has achieved. Warm and loving with his family and friends, O'Neill must make a man credible who tends to see the other side of the story, no matter how difficult.
Bill Molesky delivers his usual well-timed comic performance as Matthew, and Tom Ciancaglini turns Cromwell into a bull who charges when confronted. Bill Ali's Norfolk negotiates the shoals of the friendship with ease while Gennaro Parlato, in a rare dramatic role, oozes the required venality of Cardinal Wolsey, a man who does the king's bidding whether or not he believes in it.
Although it is but a one scene part, Will Szczech elevates it as he portrays the dashing, charming but power mad king. It is a pleasure to see him after a long absence. A minor reservation must be made about Binaifer Dabu's work as Alice. In her early scenes, she is fine but as the character hardens, she lacks conviction.
Kudos to director Nara and his co-partner Kristie Grant, scenic design Navrox and costume creator Niki Raymond. The latter pair know how to get much out of little.
Company meets 'Seasons' challenge
October 19, 2007 by Chuck Klaus
Contributing Writer, SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD
The 1960 play "A Man For All Seasons," a depiction of the struggles of Sir Thomas More with Henry the VIII over the King's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, is his finest stage work, and looms large in the ranks of 20th century theater pieces.
Bolt's precise characterizations and powerfully poetic language adorn a set of concerns at once universal, true to the historical period depicted, and surprising politically relevant to our own day.
For any theatrical company to take on such an epic-length and emotionally demanding stage work is brave. For a community theater organization to attempt it is heroic, and Simply New Theater succeeds here admirably.
The casting is good - Sir Thomas More is portrayed by Michael O'Neill, mellow and beaming intelligence through most of the proceedings, but capable of strength and command in those sections where More's strength of belief and love of family must be demonstrated.
Garrett A. Heater makes for a properly unctuous Master Richard Rich, and is complimented by the more forthright and vigorous evil portrayed by Tom Ciancaglini as Thomas Cromwell. Gennaro Parlato as Cardinal Wolsey is silkily serpentine; Jordan Glaski as Signor Chapuys, the Spanish Ambassador pulls off the not inconsiderable trick of seeming convincing politically while remaining morally oblivious.
The cameo appearance by Henry VIII is rendered here by Wil Szczech, bearing little physical relationship to the monarch but smoothly conveying the monarchs' 180 degree oscillations between friendly cajoling and brutal threatening. More's wife Lady Alice is depicted with emotional strength by Binaifer Dabu, and his daughter Margaret affectingly by Kristie Grant.
Tying the entire package together as Narrator/Greek Chorus and Everyman is Bill Molesky, whose pointed readings and energy are irresistible and prove a frame of stature surrounding the other performances.
Directors John Nara and Kristie Grant extract much from their thespians in this challenging work, which proceeds in a fairly speedy manner considering its duration. Simple effective sets and lighting by John Czajkowski are most helpful. Simply New Theater has done us all a favor by examining Bolt's examination of political conscience in a direct and powerful manner.