Playwright Evan Smith, who grew up Catholic in Savannah, Ga., came from a family that “utterly ignored” non-Catholic religious denominations. But it’s the realization of a much larger world that fuels the interesting perspective on religion in Smith’s 2007 comedy The Savannah Disputation.Set in the playwright’s hometown, the play is a comic theological debate between an elderly Catholic woman (along with her more gentle sister), a local priest and a door-to-door Pentecostal. Boulevard Theatre continues its 25th anniversary season this week with the Milwaukee premiere of the play.
The four-person ensemble comedy features Jamieson Hawkins as Melissa, a self-described Catholic missionaryor, rather, since she is Pentecostal, “a missionary to Catholics.” Melissa looks to convert two sisters in Savannah. The instantly recognizable Sally Marks, who has performed with Boulevard before, joins Boulevard newcomer Joan End as the sisters. Marks plays Mary, the more stubborn of the two sisters, who is concerned that the timid Margaret (played by End) may have had her faith shaken by the young proselytizer. To combat the forces of uncertainty, Mary invites the Catholic priest Father Murphy (Patrick Perkins) to the sisters’ next meeting with Melissa.
One of the more clever aspects of the comedy occurs when Murphy comes to the meeting off-duty, so to speaknot in clerical garb. Melissa is unaware that she now is trying to convert both sisters and a man of the cloth. More than simply a humorous religious discussion between four people, The Savannah Disputation also glances at generational dynamics as the unwavering certainty of youth is pitted against the wisdom of experience.
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The challenge for Boulevard is to produce a dynamic theatrical presentation based around an intellectual (and sometimes semi-intellectual) conversation between two to four people. Boulevard Theatre Artistic Director Mark Bucher knows his space and audience well enough to deliver the material with grace. This sounds like fun.
Boulevard Theatre’s production of The Savannah Disputation runs Nov. 24-Jan. 16, 2011, at the Boulevard Theatre, 2252 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Theater Happenings
- The Sunset Playhouse looks to start a holiday tradition with this year’s staging of It’s a Wonderful Life. Mark Salentine directs an impressive cast that includes Randall T. Anderson as George Bailey and Ruth Arnell as Mary Hatch in the James W. Rodgers adaptation of Frank Capra’s classic film. The show runs Nov. 24-Dec. 19 at the Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove. For tickets, call 262-782-4430.
- This weekend American Players Theatre adds a winter musical to its season as it opens Gift of the Magi. Based on the story by O. Henry, this adaptation is written and directed by James DeVita. Magi stars Brian Mani, Tracy Michelle Arnold and Marcus Truschinski. The show runs Nov. 28-Dec. 19 at APT’s indoor Touchstone Theatre in Spring Green, Wis. For tickets, call 608-588-2361.
