A series of one-acts opens the fall season at Acacia Theater Company. Acacia performs in the lower level of a church in leafy River Hills, WI. Despite what one may imagine a “church basement” looks like, this handsome space has been refitted nicely with an impressive stage, lighting, seating and sound to bring the audience in close proximity to the actors. It is a black box theater equal to many of the “professional” performing arts space around town.
In this production, Acacia explores the lesser-known works of Wisconsin’s most famous playwright, Thornton Wilder. Of course, Wilder’s best-known play is Our Town, which debuted in 1938 and is currently being reprised on Broadway.
Almost every child in America has been exposed to school productions of Our Town. Given its current place on Broadway, Our Town remains as relevant today as it did almost a century ago. Wilder was a three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize (one of these was for Our Town.)
One finds certain similarities between the characters in Our Town (set in 1901) and the first two Acacia one-acts, Theophilus North and The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden. The characters represented here are simple country folk, who are often engaged in domestic chores. Most characters are content to “root where they are planted,” but a few wonder about the world beyond their horizon. The characters are very tight with their neighbors, and secrets don’t stay secret long within these close communities.
Like the current Broadway production of Our Town, Acacia’s one-acts incorporate a diverse cast. A white mother may be paired with a Black father, for instance, or kids in one family may encapsulate a rainbow of colors. However, that’s about where the similarity ends.
In Acacia’s Theophilus North, a robust young school teacher (David Duncan III) breaks away from his small town to see the world. It’s 1926, and he makes it as far as Newport, RI. Upon arrival, he trades in his ornery car for a bicycle. The bicycle seems to suit him quite well as he makes his way around town. Duncan exhibits all the wonder and excitement of someone out on his own for the first time. Happily, the only person Theophilus knows in Newport immediately offers to post a newspaper ad for his tutoring services. The Newport friend also signs up Theophilus to teach summer tennis. Theophilus, who is somewhat nervous by this offer, immediately finds some “How to Play Tennis” books in the town library. He then begins training the kids who’ve signed up for lessons. One of the wiser kids asks, half-way through the program, whether they are “ever going to hit the ball over the net.” The hard-working Theophilus prevails. Eventually, he finds his meaning and purpose in these new environs.
Others in the cast include: Mark Thompson, Zackary Henke, Kerruan Sheppard, Mack Bates, Jaleesa Joy, Annika Buck, Annette Lovrien Duncan (David’s mother), and Seth Hoffman. Since most of the characters are titled “Man 1, Man 2, Woman 1,” etc., it is difficult to assign actors to various characters.
This one-act is followed by the briefer, The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden, also written by Thornton Wilder. In essence, the play resembles an episode of the old TV series, “The Waltons.” A family of four leaves their farm to visit the oldest daughter, Beulah (played by Annika Buck), who lives in Camden. One guesses that the play’s time period may be pre-Great Depression.
Before the Kirby family departs on their trip, “Ma” (Annette Lovrien Duncan) tells all her neighbors about the purpose of their visit. Ma tells one woman, who offers to feed their cat, that she will leave the back door unlatched for her. A good deal of humor is incorporated into this family journey as well.
Jaleesa Joy and Seth Hoffman play the younger children, who bicker in the car until reminded by their parents (Mack Bates plays Pa) to mind their manners. Both Joy and Hoffman play their roles convincingly.
In a scene that will be very familiar to those born before the arrival of GPS, Pa asks a gas station attendant about directions to Camden, where their married daughter lives.
The final one-act is a monologue by Jesus (Kerruan Sheppard). He knits together a number of biblical phrases into a personal, convivial, one-on-one talk about God. Sheppard does a particularly fine job here, keeping the audience’s attention while only having a single chair as a prop.
Acacia’s evening of one-acts lasts about two hours, with a brief intermission between play one and two. At times, it’s difficult to link the connections between these three short plays. Also, the overall concept of “acts of peace” is given a relatively broad interpretation. In the first play, Theophilus North discovers that his life has new meaning in his adopted community of Newport. And in the third play, the character of Jesus makes mention of peacekeepers.
Although the three directors do a good job of pacing each act, they are hampered somewhat by the extremely minimal sets/props. Wilder himself was a fan of “minimalist staging,” but a few suggestive backgrounds and props would have improved the Acacia experience. Costumes also lean towards the “minimal,” with the addition of a hat or shawl expected to convey each character (costumes by Marie Wilke). In the final one-act, the character of Jesus wears the same clothing that the actor has worn throughout the production.
In comparison, the production’s sound (no name listed in the program) and lighting (by Dan Hummel) are relatively sophisticated.
In summary, one can imagine that Thorton Wilder fans will welcome this staging of his lesser-known works.
It should also be noted that Acacia Theatre Company offers tickets on a pay-what-you-can basis for every performance. Eliminating financial barriers to the theater experience allows more people to experience and enjoy live theater.
