Playwright: adapted by Teri McCaskill from the stories of Ernest Hemingway
At: Raven Theatre Studio, 6157 N. Clark St. at Granville
Phone: ( 773 ) 338-2177; $15
Runs through: Oct. 5
It's often easy for us to forget how close to one another European countries are, with Parisians, say, speaking of going to Milan or Munich as we might speak of a jaunt to Milwaukee. But so it is that the tiny café-bar near a railway station in Spain where we find ourselves emerges as an arena for travelers from all over the world, each with their own purpose, agenda and intrigues.
Before an hour is up, we will hear one couple express hope that an abortion will salvage their relationship, and another reaffirm their allegiance even as the lady embarks on a fling with her lesbian lover. We will see a German professor invoke his National Geographic Society membership in an effort to ingratiate himself with an American, and another American offer the waitress a preposterous sum of money for a quickie. We will witness two prostitutes compare their prize memories, an old man drink himself nearer to That Good Night, and a waiter acknowledge his place of employment as a beacon and a sanctuary in a dark world.
So many of Ernest Hemingway's short stories are comprised almost entirely of conversation—with the speakers' evasive intercourse ultimately revealing what they cannot bring themselves to discuss frankly—that it was only a matter of time before someone compiled a selection of these snapshot scenarios into a dramatic group-portrait. This is precisely what Teri McGaskill has done for this Raven Studio Series production, bridging the texts of five Hemingway stories—some familiar, most of them not—with stage business and dialogue designed to make for an integrated narrative.
The transitions were not yet wholly seamless on opening night, diminishing characterizations already abbreviated by the play's structurally mandated ensemble technique. But under McCaskill's direction, the sharply defined personalities created by Scott Markwell, Jamie Vann and Stacie Doublin command the stage for their brief time, with others only a step away from realizing their respective personae. Comfortably anchoring the activity in the meantime is the chorus of Michael LaCavera, Rita Simon, Colin Milroy, Larry Wiley and Larry Carani, who preside over scenic designer Joe Glueckert's clean, well-lighted taberna with hostly pride.
