Displaying items by tag: Marti Lyons

In the current political climate, where the political left and right are more divided than ever in their world view, Northlight Theatre’s The City of Conversation provides a glimpse at an elite class of Washington, DC, power players and how they charted the course of this country from behind the scenes for many decades.

The play, which opens Northlight’s 42nd season, centers on the relationships of a liberal socialite and her powerful but understated influence. The show’s title is a nod to British author Henry James’ famous view of Washington, DC, and the impact of its parlor games, and women in particular, on politics.

Written by Anthony Giardina and directed by Marti Lyons, The City of Conversation takes place in an exclusive Georgetown enclave and spans more than 30 years (from President Carter to the inauguration of President Obama) of socialite Hester Ferris’ (played by Lia D. Mortensen) political maneuverings over cocktails and posh dinners.

The play kicks off in 1979 during the twilight, and what Hester calls the malaise, of Carter’s term. She is hosting a very important party for her longtime, married partner Senator Chandler Harris (played by Tim Decker). Through the power of gentle persuasion, filtered through a catered meal and cocktails, Hester hopes to wrangle the vote of Republican Senator George Mallonee (played by Tim Morrison) for an important piece of legislation that will buoy Senator Teddy Kennedy’s chances in a primary bid against Carter.

Things take an unexpected turn when Hester’s son, Colin Ferris (played by Greg Matthew Anderson), shows up a day early from London with his fiancé Anna Fitzgerald (played by Mattie Hawkinson) who is not only an outsider from a small Minnesota town but also extremely ambitious, which Hester is quick to notice, and is a supporter of Governor Ronald Reagan.

The events of that evening set a course resulting in family division as both Hester and Anna wrestle with the rising tide of Reaganism and the resulting power shifts from liberal elites to the “Barbarians at the Gate,” as Anna calls the new crop of conservative outsiders, like herself, taking power.

Things come to a head for the family during the second term of Ronald Reagan’s presidency as Hester, Anna and Colin, now a staunch republican, spar over the controversial Supreme Court nomination of Judge Robert Bork.

Though Hester’s influence has declined over the years she is still working behind the scenes to stop the momentum of Bork’s nomination. Colin, who works for Republican Senator Gordon Humphrey, begs his mother not to embarrass him by intruding in the process. However, Anna, who is now in a powerful position within the Justice Department overseeing Bork's nomination, discovers Hester’s attempts to derail him and sparks fly as the two women, who are similar in their ambition and that they were once both outsiders who fought their way into the centers of power, engage in a heated argument culminating in an ultimatum and an irreconcilable break.

This scene is the strongest of the entire play and certainly generates the most excitement as Hester and Anna throw sharp barbs at each other. Perhaps the one drawback is that there is so much dialogue that both actors feel a little rushed in their delivery so the lines don’t always land as powerfully as intended.

A theme running throughout The City of Conversation is that Northeastern elites forgot the plight of the common man whose eventual political rise, however, lead to the decline of their Georgetown class along with the toney parties, described by Hester as an arm of the government. And gone with that brand of cocktail diplomacy are the civility and the mutual respect across the partisan divide that made political battles more of a chess match than the blood sport they are today.

The City of Conversation is being performed at the Northlight Theatre through October 23. Tickets are available at northlight.org.

What do you do when you receive a call from God? How do you even know if in fact it was a call from God? Could such a happening be a figment of the imagination stemming from one’s ego or a desire wanted so badly that a sign is unconsciously created? In Body and Blood now, currently running at Gift Theatre in Jefferson Park, Dan shocks his live-in girlfriend, Leah, when what she hopes is the beginning of a marriage proposal is instead an announcement that he is leaving her to become a priest. Dan, who has a history of not following through on most anything he does and is fortunate to even have a job at his brother-in-law’s luggage store, claims God appeared to him in an oak tree finally filling him with the purpose he so desperately needs to find fulfillment in life.

Of course Leah, hurt and stunned, suspects this is just another one of Dan’s misinterpreted impulses and possibly just a way of ending their relationship. It gets even better when Dan’s sister, Monica, and her husband, Mick, join the two on their backyard deck for an evening of dinner and drinks. Two devout Catholics, both Monica and Mick are also skeptical of Dan’s new “epiphany”, his sister absolutely livid thinking Dan is copping out on responsibility once again. The play gets even more interesting when the father of Dan’s parish stops by and breaks down the possibilities of Dan’s vision, leaving the available option that such a happening may have certainly happened and that only time will tell. Ultimately, we wonder – is Dan following his heart or creating a new excuse to shirk his current obligations.

Body and Blood is a thought-provoking story that also explores blind devotion to a faith and the hypocrisies, or contradictions, of Catholicism. How much are gays really accepted in the church even though so many priests have been outed in recent times?

The cast puts forth a well-rounded effort. Lynda Newton, one of The Gift Theatre’s founding members, is strong as Monica, dishing out the appropriate humor in her character when necessary and also very believable as one who is experiencing such conflict. In his first performance at The Gift, Nicholas Harazin also delivers a heartfelt performance as Dan and Cyd Blackwell as Leah compliments him well as his girlfriend, Leah.

There are plenty of moments in this play that will make you laugh and many that will make you really feel for the struggle each character is going through. The story moves with ease, the dialogue smooth as silk, and there is just enough intrigue to keep one wondering what will happen next. However, playwright William Nedved’s ending is somewhat flat and anti-climactic, leaving a bit to be desired after such a build up. Still, with solid acting performances, flowing interchanges with bite, emotion and humor and topic matter that might be found thought-provoking by some, there are enough reasons to make this a show worth checking out.

Soundly directed by Marti Lyons and aptly presented in an intimate storefront playhouse Body and Blood is being performed at The Gift Theatre through August 9^th. For tickets and/or more show information visit www.thegifttheatre.org or call 773.283.7071.