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CONNECTICUT CRITICS CIRCLE |
Death Explored in a Unique Way By Rosalind Friedman The quirky play, Vigil (at the Westport Country Playhouse), proves a couple of things: first, a Canadian can have an off-beat sense of humor. This absurdist work by Morris Panych, an award-winning playwright in his country, certainly explores death in a unique way. Every line defies traditional ideas and behavior. Second, Timothy Busfield, whom we've enjoyed on television, is an excellent actor, carrying, here, what could be considered a one-man demanding show. However, let us not count out Helen Stenborg. Ms. Stenborg, wife of the late great actor Barnard Hughes and mother of Director Doug Hughes, has had a remarkable career in the theater. Playing Grace, an elderly woman of few words, while sitting propped up on pillows and knitting in a large brass bed, her attention and response to every word that Busfield utters, is amazing. Her pretty, perky face topped with snow-white hair reflects a myriad of emotions. Busfield affects an air of naivete and cruelty as a character named Kemp. Neatly dressed in a striped suit, shirt and tie, carrying an old green suitcase, he arrives in Grace's cluttered, worn apartment, announcing that he is her long lost nephew; it seems she's sent him a letter summoning him to her death bed, but looks shocked to see him. What transpires in a series of staccato scenes is a 40-something man, neither gay nor straight, telling his sad and lonely life story, which includes his terrible parents, and his tutor, a Roumanian dwarf, to a woman who for the most part listens. Kemp castigates his aunt for never writing him or sending a gift for over 30 years. His point of view is laced with black humor and a candor that can only be called rude and macabre. Do you want to be cremated, he asks bluntly. You must sign your will, he states openly. I will inherit everything from you. Meanwhile, while he is waiting impatiently for her to die, and plotting ways to kill her, he makes and serves her, her favorite butterscotch pudding-my favorite, too. She, in moments when he is not there, gets up out of bed, spryly, and walks around, even smoking a cigarette. He, throughout the two years he is there, stares out her dirty window and wonders about a woman sitting in the window across the street. There are hysterical surprises that I cannot reveal. Director Stephen Di Menna could have used a faster pace; but considering the challenges he does a good job. The many scenes are interspersed with interestingly modern music featuring cello and piano composed by The Broken Chord Collective. Lit warmly by Ben Stanton, the intricate Scenic Design by Andromache Chalfant, daughter of noted actress Kathleen Chalfant, is a triumph of detail. Ilona Somogyi's costumes are fine, particularly the flowered robe Kemp wears. In the end, Kemp's grief at Grace's death is heartfelt. And we are left to ponder the hate/love conundrum. ### This review originally aired on WMNR 88.1fm Fine Arts Radio |