Giving Second Samuel a First-Class Rating

By Mike Logothetis
Theater reviewer Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

In the late 1940s, the sleepy hamlet of Second Samuel, Georgia is surprisingly rocked by the passing of their beloved music teacher, Miss Gertrude. The death of one sweet, old lady turns the whole town upside down and citizens begin to wonder if normalcy will ever return.

Second Samuel is a town full of good, hardworking folks that are presented with a situation no one could have ever imagined. Bernard Flat (Jeff Gudzune), an autistic young man affectionately nicknamed B Flat by his friends, introduces us to the townspeople as they move through the chores and activities of their days. B Flat acts as a narrator of sorts and moral heartbeat of the town.

At the local tavern and bait store, bartender Frisky Madison (Sam Dressler) keeps his opinionated patrons in check. Oft-drunk Manuel Dean (Fran Lazartic) and curmudgeon Mr. Mozel (Dave Hastings) cast judgements as easily as casting a line into a fishing hole. Barback US (Sedric Wills) is a black man who has to tip-toe between voicing his convictions and knowing his unfortunate station in post-war Southern life.

Set Designer David Sokolowski has split the stage in two. On the other side of the bar is a beauty salon where Omaha Madison (Lisa Osicky) and Ruby (Danielle Nelms) host gab sessions while cutting hair. Local gossip Jimmy Deeanne (Corinth Ford) spars with pragmatist and prankster Marcela Dean (Bethany Miller) over almost everything.

Everyone in both locations is mourning the loss of Miss Gertrude by telling stories of her upstanding character and generosity. That posthumous goodwill only lasts until mortuary director June Cline (Alan Albert) drops a truth bomb to end the first act.

What could Cline have said? What secrets did Miss Gertrude hold? Is her memory forever tarnished?

“She’s still Miss Gertrude,” asserts B Flat as arguments erupt around him at the bar and hair salon.

Unfortunately, B Flat is regularly dismissed as he is considered “simple.” But Second Samuel is all about simple folk wrestling with complex issues concerning the nature of a person. Doc (Dan Tucker) seems to be the first learned man to accept who Miss Gertrude was. His reasoned position adds credence to recognizing someone’s true/good character over all else.

“Just love one another,” US says in a heartful talk with B Flat. Truer words have not been spoken.

Playwright Pamela Parker once said “Second Samuel is about redemption.”

“It is about the good in people overcoming the bad; it’s about doing the right thing [even when they don’t understand],” she said.

Director Ruth K. Brown deftly conducts action between bar and salon and emotions between outrage and forgiveness. The pacing is tight and the cast chemistry is strong.

“I hope walking out the door [the audience is] thinking, ‘Those people are just like me…and I’d do the right thing too,” Parker said. “I hope so anyway. Maybe they won’t, but I hope they will.”

“I want to believe there is goodness in all of us. For me, Second Samuel keeps that hope alive.”

The two-act show runs 1 hour and 40 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.

The short run of Second Samuel is: October 23-26 inside the Delaware City Community Center located at 250 Fifth Street in Delaware City. All performances are at 8 o’clock save for the Sunday matinee at 2 pm. Tickets start at $16 with discounts for seniors, military, fire, police, and EMS affiliations. Ticket sales and information can be found at reedypoint.org and reedypoint@gmail.com. The Reedy Point Players, LTD are a non-profit 501(c)(3) certified community theatre group located in Delaware City, Delaware.

“How come some kinds of different are OK?” – B Flat

A Chemist Recalls Her Admiration of "The Memory of Water"

Vi played by Susie Moak. Photo by Peter Kuo.

By Carol Van Zoeren
The Memory of Water, now showing at Chapel Street Players in Newark through April 28, 2018, was written by Shelagh Stephenson and is directed by Kathleen Kimber.

Three sisters come together before their mother's funeral, each haunted by her own demons. The three each have different memories of shared childhood events, causing constant, and often very funny, bickering about whose memories are true. As the three women get together after years of separation, their hidden lies and self-betrayals begin to surface.

As is often the case, the eldest sister, Theresa, is the "responsible one." Lori Ann Johnson clearly conveys Theresa’s resentment — that her family has always forced her to subsume her own needs to cover up family dysfunction. In one uncomfortable (though perhaps overlong) scene, Johnson expertly shows us Theresa’s inner battle whether to reveal a family secret that she has kept for decades and at great emotional cost.

Middle sister Mary (Susan Boudreaux) is superficially the "successful one." In her professional life, yes. In her personal life, not so much. Mary works hard to distance herself from her mother. Perhaps this is why mother Vi (Susie Moak) only interacts with Mary in dreamlike sequences. Boudreaux navigates the emotional roller coaster well. The opening scene of Act II between Moak and Boudreaux is especially moving. 

Youngest daughter Catherine (Cyndie Romer) is the "free spirit." But her pot smoking and binge shopping are clearly cries for the attention she never got as a child. And attention she still doesn’t get from a committed, loving partner. Romer skillfully shows us the vulnerability hiding behind the bravura.

All of this sounds like a real downer, right? But no! There are wonderful bon mots, put-downs and zingers, delivered with deadpan, spot-on comic timing. And, a hysterical scene when the somewhat stoned sisters play dress up with Mom’s outlandish wardrobe. It is simply wonderful to see an ensemble (which includes Dave Hastings and Frank Newton) gel. It’s clear that they enjoy being on stage together, and that is all to the credit of director Kathleen Kimber.

I really enjoyed this production, but I've gotta say, I’m not sure the British accents were necessary and sometimes got in the way of enunciation, especially of rightfully tossed off bon mots which the audience sometimes couldn’t hear clearly. Yes, the playwright is British and the script included a number of British terms and slang. Just saying I might have made a different choice for an American audience.

Reflecting on the play itself, I was impressed with the frequent touchpoints on memory, which rose organically from the dialog. For example, that Vi suffered from Alzheimer's. And that Mary is treating a patient with amnesia. And especially the concept that human memory isn’t just some repository of information, but is used to ensure survival. Indeed, the differences in how the sisters remember their childhood demonstrates that each remembers it in the way she must, for her own well-being.

And, OK, full disclosure. I’m a chemist and my favorite molecule is water. It touches me to the core that the title of this play is not so much about how we remember water, but rather how water remembers us. That which birthed us, remembers us. Playwright Shelagh Stephenson was known to draw inspiration from science. 

And to that I can only say (Britishly) — Huzzah!

See http://chapelstreetplayers.org.