Playwright: Tom Stoppard
At: Writers' Theatre,
664 Vernon Ave., Glencoe
Phone: (847) 242-6000; $38-$45
Runs through: April 20
One would expect a sparkling, exuberant, and witty script from Tom Stoppard. After all, the scribe of stage and screen has built a formidable international reputation for his word play and artistry in such stage works as Rosencrantz and Guilderstern Are Dead, Travesties, and The Invention of Love. He continued to build on his reputation in memorable cinematic outings such as Brazil, Empire of the Sun, and Billy Bathgate. In 2000, Stoppard garnered an Academy Award for his screenplay, Shakespeare in Love.
Happily, Rough Crossing should live up to anyone's expectations of the Stoppard's theatrical mastery. The play concerns a pair of bumbling playwrights bored aboard an ocean liner during the 1930s, who have little else to do other than try to come up with an ending for their musical, due when they dock in New York. But there are complications; their young composer is afflicted with a strange speech impediment that's liable to be worsened by the fact that his ladylove may be having an affair with her leading man. Throw in a goofy ship's steward who's on his maiden voyage, and you have a recipe for disaster, or romance, or comedy. Luckily for audiences, all three are in ample supply in Writer's Theatre's latest production.
Winningly directed by Michael Halberstam (the theater's artistic director), Rough Crossing shines. Halberstam has imbued his production with swift, economical pacing that allows for all the effervescence of Stoppard's language to shine through and to allow the abundant physical comedy to soar. Halberstam is blessed with an unusually talented ensemble (a regular feature at this tiny, 50-seat equity house). As the bumbling steward, Sean Fortunato snatches up most of the laughs, stealing every scene he's in. Whether he's drinking up the cognac he's supposed to be serving, or swaying to the boat's movement when no one else is (and becoming completely solid when a storm hits the vessel), Fortunato creates a perfect comic role: brilliantly silly, perfectly realized, and enviably timed. Hollis Resnick, the lone female of the cast, charms as leading lady Natasha, making prima donna funny and giving the few musical outings in the show a lot of grace and style. Jeff Still and Joel Hatch are solid anchors (pardon the pun) as the two playwrights charged with putting together a show in the face of creative bankruptcy and the delicate emotional state of their cast and composer. And it's this young composer, Adam, played by Gregory Isaac, who really shines … with earnestness and touching humor as he struggles to reclaim his love and his voice.
Brian Sydney Bembridge does wonderful work in Writers' Theatre's tiny performance space, transforming it into a believable art deco cruise ship, floating in a sea of yellow and blue. Rita Pietraszek's lighting design is on cue as well, moving from calm skies to stormy ones with all the credibility of an ocean's atmosphere. Josh Scmidt's original music adds whimsy and color, and Rachel Anne Healy's period costumes are right on target, from head to … shoes. All in all, this Rough Crossing is one well worth making.