Berkshires arts reviews

August 16, 2007 performance reviewed by Frances Benn Hall

Lillian Hellman’s “Autumn Garden” at Williamstown’s Festival Theatre is a perfectly marvelous play, probably atypical in being an ensemble play and very unlike Hellman’s better known highly plotted plays, but in her opinion and that of this reviewer, her best. (John Benjamin Hickey & Allison Janney in THE AUTUMN GARDEN. Photo by Carol Rosegg)

In this play, although Allison Janney may be the best known “star” (so beloved for her wonderful C. J Craig in “West Wing,” and although she plays the central role of Constance) she is so beautifully woven into the ensemble cast, in which half a dozen actors must play minutely defined characters, that pro that she is, she never takes “star-turn” but moves brilliantly through her role as owner of the small private guest house in a small unnamed town in Louisiana, a hundred miles from New Orleans.

The time is September in 1949. Most of the characters in the play are middle-aged, as is Constance, and have known each other for more than twenty years. They bring much more than changes of attire in their baggage. They are self-involved, full of complicated relationships, emotions, accusations, and memories.

Constance is central in running the guest house in which she now lives year-around with her refugee niece Sophie, age 17 (rescued from occupied France several years previously). Her own past baggage includes the fact that twenty five years previously a young artist (Nicholas Denery, played by John Benjamin Hickey) painted her picture, asked her to marry him. And the next day left on a boat for Paris, marrying the girl he met on the boat (Nina, played by Jessica Hecht).

Constance has not seen Nicholas since but as the play opens, he and Nina are due to arrive at any moment. They do. Nik wants to paint another picture of her. He does. And after he has caused a great deal of mischief, departs.

Among the other guests are General Benjamin Griggs (Brian Kerwin) and his wife of twenty-five years (Rose). They are poised on the edge of a divorce. Their sons are grown and Griggs can no longer stand the girlishly sweet Rose and her efforts to stay young; they have had nothing in common, ever, he realizes, and longs for a life alone where he can study Chinese.

The Ellis group is larger, led and dominated by Mary (Elizabeth Frantz) a zesty 70 year old, holder of the vast family fortune and dispenser of money and very sage advice to her daughter Carrie (Cynthia Mace) and her grandson Fredrick (Eric Murdoch). Fred, although 25 is sort-of engaged to Sophie, but wastes all his time and money on an (off-stage) gay, sponging writer.

The only loner in the group, a character modeled on Dashiell Hammett, is Edward Crossman played by Rufus Collins. He works in a bank but for 25 years has spent his holidays with Constance.

These constitute the center of the tightly intertwined cast.

Janney is totally in control of her character, one miles away from C. J Craig. As Constance she is a still-lovely but middle-aged Southern woman with the accent in place. Her almost girlish excitement over the arrival of Nicholas is exactly right. She is not jealous of the new wife and bears Nik no hard feelings. She even agrees, reluctantly to let him paint her again. She can be impulsive, even credulous when she should not be when a lie by Nik gives her a brief hope for a future she had forgotten she probably wanted, but valiantly realistic at the play’s end when she comments, “Never mind. Most of us lie to ourselves, darling, most us.” She is strong, resourceful, hurt but realistic, appealing, eager and extremely sympathetic.

Elizabeth Franz totally inhabits her role of family monarch. She is sprightly, opinionated, shrewd and at times very funny.

Hickey the returner to the fold to cause trouble manages to be breezy, sleezy and self confident. He’s not a villain but not a very nice person, drinks too much, has little real talent, and yet there is that something about him that once fascinated Constance and that despite years of living with him has not lost him his wife Nina, attractive, competent, and too good for him.

Major Griggs in the last act carries with dignity some of the lovely long speeches that Hammett finally had to help Hellman write. Kerwin handles with sensitivity and skill. They are lines of understanding and acceptance, too long to quote but very important to Hellman’s message in the play, a serious one, but not a tragic one.

Mamie Gummer handles her slight French accent with skill, much of it in the timing and the seeming difficult choosing of the words to say. She is a sympathetic character (although there is one enterprising bit of business). Mainly she accepts what she cannot change, but will change it given the opportunity. Very appealing.

Maryann Plunkett displays the ability to be a brainless silly wife, beautiful but annoying, and of evoking sympathy when it is finally needed.

Collins , the loner, but significantly present, honest but undismayed, is totally sympathetic, well-cast, sensitively understood and played, the one Hellman loved and trusted most, and the audience does too.

In fact, all the casting is splendid, as are the sets, by Thomas Lynch, and especially the directing by David Jones.

This, the final big production of the WFT season is a must see if one can get a ticket. An additional matinee has already been added to help with the demand.

Among the other joys of the opening night performance was the presence of Governor Deval Patrick and his wife in the enthusiastic audience. It’s so nice to live in the Berkshires!