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erformanceBv HARRIET MARCUSTHE STARS WERE the four members of the NewquistLike the diamond that it is, Jules Feiffer’s “Little Mur- family, whose fantastic story this is. Stan Schapiro andders” is brilliant, cutting and manv-faceted. Park Forest's Theater 31 chose this gem of contemporary social commentary to close its maiden year. Praise be. the performance was a match for the material!Friday, we could admire both Feiffer’s mastery of human psychology and the superbly chosen cast that played it out for us on the miniscule Art center stage. Harvey Shif-rin’s direction was virtually flawless, and the set design by Michael Moormann was 14 carat, fit for the jewel it contained.In the wierdly wonderful world of Feiffer, the juxtaposition of sanity and insanity is paramount. Theater 31 sailed us smoothly along from the play’s start, where reality is madness, to its end, where madness is reality. And there was not a ripple to mar the voyage.Jean Marin, as Mr. and Mrs. Newquist, were superb. Theirs is the task to create empathy in the audience for a pair in the process of increasing personality disintegration; it is a big job, and was beautifully done.Mrs. Marin brought to her role a certain poignancy of lost youth and years, and Schapiro towered as a brash man finally resigned to the beating down that is his lot in life. Sandra Kadzielawski, a newcomer to the local stage, was an attractive choice for Patsy, the Newquists’ big strong daughter.We especially liked Tim McCarthy as Kenny, the pasty-faced and neurotic son. His lines and expressions provide much of the needed comic relief that enables the audience to both tolerate and appreciate this tale, one of the definitive tragedies of our time.UpAnd Tom Sweeney was excellent as Patsy’s fiance Alfred, perhaps the play’s most difficult character to do justice to. As the mad city rises to cow and crush its inhabitants, Alfred is the one who emerges as the only person in step with the times; his personal sickness renders him healthv in a world of madness, and Sweenev made the ironv• i tperfectly clear.THREE STARS in briefer roles shone with no less brightness. They included Murray Kaplan as the wordyof the play? We found them a hnppv adjunct t° all 11 ha * fer had in mind, an effective statement of tlhe sadI fact I hatpeople can and do adjust to everything, even total ruination.And the title of the play tells it all. There is nothing 'lt; mic in the city. Each person adjusts and accepts, and the ul timate tragedy Is that even murders are little things^ When the play ends, we are left with the real horror of what has happened, and the intimation of other horrors yet to come.FOR THAT REASON, Theater 31 cast members gave upjudge, Harold Shabelman as the nervous police lieutenant the traditional bows and curtain calls Friday. There is noand Mike Moormann as the existential clergyman. Each curtain that can hide this slice of life, and no burst ot ap-fullv deserved his appreciative audience reception. plause loud enough to drown out this ugly new reality.We went home shaken, but thinking, and this, we re sure,is the reaction Feiffer wanted. Another lucky load of theater attenders will have the chance to shake, and think, atRandv Drolen’s sound effects, an essential factor in theplay, were a triumph. The lighting, designed by Shifrin andexecuted by Steve Billig, is open to question, and raised question on Friday. Many playgoers were confused by the 7:30 p.m. tonight. The opportunity, unlike the curtain easeveral blackouts — were they accidental, or a planned part should not be bypassed.
Newspaper Details
Park Forest Star
Park Forest, Illinois, US
Sun, Jun 04, 1972
Page 46
Full Page
Clipped by
Harvey S.
FL, USA 19 Aug 2020
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