A Hare-Raising Experience? 'Seven Rabbits on a Pole'

"Seven Rabbits on a Pole"

Written by John C. Picardi, directed by Robert Jay Cronin, scenic design by Charlie Morgan, costume design by Rachel Kurland-Foxglove, lighting design by Jeff Adelberg, sound design by David Wilson, choreography by Ellen Peterson

Cast in order of appearance:

Lawrence, Robert Antonelli

Julia, Robyn Elizabeth Lee

Mrs. Wilson, Cheryl McMahon

Peter, Andrew Miramontes

Enio, Barry M. Press

Q, Timothy J. Smith

Performances: Now through March 19

Box Office: 781-279-2200 or www.stonehamtheatre.org

Playwright John C. Picardi has set an ambitious course for himself, planning to chronicle the 20^th century Italian American experience, decade by decade, in a series of 10 ethnically based plays. Unlike the epic 10-play cycle of the late August Wilson, however, whose lyrical eloquence and powerful metaphors sweep audiences away on the turbulent seas created by the clash of history, culture and the indomitable African American spirit, Picardi's works thus far only skim the surface of personal and political angst. With his stereotypical characters and tired "buried secrets" plot lines, his explorations never venture beyond the shallows.

"Seven Rabbits on a Pole," currently in its New England premiere at the Stoneham Theatre north of Boston, is set on a small coastal Massachusetts farm during the Great Depression. This prequel to Picardi's first play, "Sweepers," which chronicled the adjustments that Italian American women had to make in their cloistered North End neighborhood while their men were off fighting in WWII, centers on the changes that the motherless Petrone family undergo when a penniless stranger arrives at the farm selling rabbits he has snared for food.

The sensitive, educated, artistic, and politically inclined brother Lawrence welcomes the down-on-his-luck Q in a show of socialist humanitarianism. The older, more practical, and somewhat bitter brother Peter would rather send the oddly named visitor packing. Peter, it seems, is resentful of his younger sibling's fair-haired status in the family. While Lawrence, dubbed the "professore" by his doting father Enio, paints, studies, listens to opera, and philosophizes with the kindly widowed neighbor lady, Mrs. Wilson, Peter toils diligently in the fields.

Adding to the brothers' stress are the concerns they both have about their simple-of-mind yet adult-of-body sister, Julia, an exuberant child/woman who is beginning to entertain romantic notions thanks to Mrs. Wilson's nightly readings to her from "Gone with the Wind." While Lawrence sees the book as one of the greatest American historical and political novels of all time, Peter fears that its racier elements are beginning to corrupt the innocent sister he protects like a guard dog. When Julia's interest in Q sparks a sexual awakening that leads to the inevitable – and predictable – dire consequences, the family's tough-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside Papa suddenly breaks down to reveal the long hidden truth about his beloved, and overly sentimentalized, young wife's death.

The dramatic tension that Picardi intends to create in "Seven Rabbits on a Pole" never really materializes because his characters, and exposition, are too pat. Q is the nameless Everyman impoverished by the Depression and forgotten by his government and the upper class. Mrs. Wilson is the requisite WASP-y "have" who finds the earthy charm of her working class Italian "have not" neighbors endearing. Enio is the much put upon patriarch whose only concern is the survival of his family. The children are the second-generation immigrants caught between the old ways and the new. With these people and situations there should be tremendous potential for delivering a penetrating examination of conflicting hopes and dashed dreams. Unfortunately, that potential is squandered, lost in superficial nods to stereotypical icons – drinking homemade wine, dancing the tarantella, eating macaroni cooked al dente, and protesting the fascism of Mussolini and Franco.

Robert Jay Cronin's uninspired direction of his seemingly talented cast needs to take some of the blame for the disappointment in this production of "Seven Rabbits on a Pole." Robert Antonelli as Lawrence demonstrates none of his aspiring teacher's ideological passion that would drive him to join Spain's rebel army. Andrew Miramontes as Peter seems perpetually perturbed, warm only in his scenes with Robyn Elizabeth Lee as his sister. As Julia, Lee is far too exaggerated in portraying the mentally challenged and overprotected side of her character, adopting excessively childlike behaviors that make her ultimate transformation to a mature and worldly wise young lady much too sudden and unbelievable. And Barry M. Press's Enio seems to have come to America via Ellis Island via Naples via Anatevka. His wandering and overblown Italian accent, obligatory shrugged shoulders and arm gestures, and frequent heavenward glances are more reminiscent of Tevye from "Fiddler on the Roof" than Tony from "The Most Happy Fella."

Only Cheryl McMahon as Mrs. Wilson and Timothy J. Smith as Q present us with fully realized, naturally developed characters. McMahon is funny, touching, and strong as the lonely widow whose mannered way of life slowly melts in the warm glow of her more expressive Italian neighbors. Smith makes Q a humble but also honorable man whose devotion to his family causes him agonizing grief when he succumbs in a moment of weakness to a night of unexpected physical companionship.

This season Stoneham Theatre seems to have strayed far from the successful path it laid out last year with productions of "Tommy," "John and Jen, "Thrill Me," and "The Old Man and the Sea." Lately its shows – and actors – seem to be working too hard to create theatrical magic. Perhaps artistic director Weylin Symes needs to rediscover that a shout is often less powerful than a whisper. "Seven Rabbits on a Pole" playwright John C. Picardi could learn the same lesson.

 

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