By By Elise Meyers
“Ah! Wilderness!,” directed by department chair James J. Kolb, relates the exploits of a young man and his New England family over the course of two days as he searches for love.
The set, costume and sound designers (and their teams) deserve praise for helping create the proper mood for a play set in 1909. The actors would have sounded silly speaking in turn of the century dialect and referencing contemporary historical figures if they had not been clad in sailor suits and surrounded by period wallpaper.
Staging was smart, creative and a little bit risky. Although the play transitions to several different locales-including the beach, a bar and the dining room-space on the main stage is completely reserved for the sitting room set. The other locations of the play are presented by lowering the scrim and raising the thrust. The first time the dining room set appears, one audience member was heard to comment that it was “pretty good for Hofstra.” The only set not to impress was the back room of the bar, which was very plain and uninspired.
The cast, for the most part, was exceptional. Mark Diconzo’s turn as the patriarch of the Miller family makes it seem unfortunate if one missed him as the lead in “Julius Caesar” last year. A common problem in college theatre is the difficulty of casting an older character when the pool of available actors averages between 17 and 25 years old. It is even more difficult for the actor when he must play father to another actor that is only slightly younger (and in some cases older) than himself. In Diconzo’s case, this problem is non-existent. He not only looks the part of an older man (thanks to facial hair and excellent make-up), but he plays the part to perfection. Dicanzo is not the only member worth mentioning.
Gary Ferrar as the fickle teenage son, Richard, truly captured what it means to be teenagers in love.
Ferrar is so skilled that when he suddenly and briefly lost his voice for a second during an important scene toward the end, he was able to play it off for even greater comedic effect without breaking character.
Other notable mentions include Amanda Donelan and Colin Schur as more children of the Miller family and Emily Hockaday as a serving girl. Finally, Georgia Dillion is the perfect female counterpart for Ferrar’s fickle and all-too-tragic Richard-it would have been nice to see her in more than the third act.
As successful as the production was, there were a few minor problems. At the opening of the show, it was almost impossible to hear the actors from only 10 rows back. The audience had to strain to understand the dialogue. It took nearly five minutes for them to build the volume to an audible level. They were then able to speak loudly enough for the rest of act one. At the beginning of the second act, their voices fell quiet again but rose much more quickly. By the third act, the problem was resolved.
Another issue was the failure of most the cast to pause for laughs, although this was perhaps due to the overly boisterous reactions of many audience members. Either way, it caused lines to be dropped unnecessarily. The only actor to pause every time without fail was Georgia Dillon. Luckily the plot was not at all complicated, so the occasional loss of a line was not a huge disaster.
The show was, by far, among the most entertaining and professionally-produced productions to come out of the University’s Department of Drama and Dance in a long time. If they can continue to put out works of this caliber, then maybe they can start to attract larger audiences and truly fill their seats.
Final Grade: B