"A View of the Harbor" in New England Premiere

A View of the Harbor

By Richard Dresser

Directed by Charles Towers, Scene Designer Richard Wadsworth Chambers, Costume Designer Devon Painter, Lighting Designer Brian J. Lilienthal, Stage Manager Emily F. McMullen

CAST:   Andrea Cirie, Kathryn; Kyle Fabel, Nick; Stephanie Fieger, Paige; Anderson Matthews, Daniel

Performances through February 1, 2009 at Merrimack Repertory Theatre

Box Office 978-654-4678 or www.merrimackrep.org

Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell presents the New England premiere of Massachusetts playwright Richard Dresser's comedy A View of the Harbor, the third in his series on happiness in America. MRT previously produced Augusta (2006) and The Pursuit of Happiness (2007) and has been involved with this play's development since a script workshop last May. Artistic Director Charles Towers also directed the world premiere in July at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival in West Virginia.

The MRT audience reaps the benefits of Towers' intimate familiarity with these characters and their quirks as he guides his quartet of actors with a sure hand. They slowly peel back the layers of their personalities, gradually revealing well-hidden traits and exposing their true selves. In this foursome, nobody is who they appear to be and Dresser meticulously and cleverly sketches in the details scene by scene. There are numerous twists and turns along the way, with a couple of red herrings thrown in to suggest other possibilities, but all the loose ends get tied up neatly.

On the surface, this is the story of Nick, a blue-collar factory worker, and his do-gooder girlfriend Paige, who pay a visit to his family home on the coast of Maine after his father has had a stroke. The ramshackle old cottage that is home to father Daniel and sister Kathryn seems to confirm the poverty of Nick's upbringing and serves to strengthen Paige's love and admiration for him. Her need is to save someone and he is even more of a "project" than she imagined. For his part, Nick is very willing to be rescued by Paige, completing their symbiosis. He has escaped his crazy family, but feels compelled to return home to see his father one more time. Kathryn has been the caretaker since the death of their mother some eleven years earlier, but seeks her freedom and the chance to have her own life. While she envisions a swap with Nick, he is wary, knowing that it is difficult to get away from their powerful, manipulative father. He comes to say goodbye to his father and the family legacy that Dresser unveils in small portions.

When Nick and Paige arrive, Daniel is rumpled and appears to be confused, but certainly not at death's door. Once he changes from bathrobe and pajamas into a dark, double- breasted suit, Anderson Matthews uses his physicality and booming voice to complete Daniel's metamorphosis from invalid to head of the household. He stands up straighter, has a twinkle in his eye, and takes obvious pleasure in playing mind games with the young ones for sport. His jabs have a withering effect on Kathryn and leave Nick alternately angry or unmoved. Only Paige is capable of meeting him head on without shrinking and it revs him up. Stephanie Fieger takes her character on an interesting journey with some surprises that I won't spoil. Suffice it to say that hers is a nuanced performance that will suddenly make you take notice of what's going on with Paige.

Andrea Cirie's Kathryn is a study in decompensation, starting out as the sardonic, take no prisoners protector of her father who eventually risks showing her vulnerability to go after what she wants. The interaction between Kathryn and Daniel brings to mind the mother and daughter Beale in Grey Gardens, an image fortified by the decrepit cottage and bare cupboard within, as well as their wacky banter, and Cirie and Matthews have the timing and chemistry that make it work. Kyle Fabel's Nick seamlessly fits into the dysfunctional family circle, picking up right where they left off years before, but I found his relationship with Paige less than stirring.  MRT audiences know Fabel (he will be directing the next feature of the season, Tranced), but the rest of the ensemble debuts on this stage in Harbor and we should hope to see more of them. 

One of the joys in this piece is the playwright's ability to give each of his characters a distinctive voice. Daniel employs many unusual words, such as fecund and feckless to describe his children, and combined with his deep timbre, he sounds quite aristocratic and commanding. Kathryn's tone and language give away her breeding, as well, but Nick speaks like a disinterested, beer-swigging factory worker and Paige's speech matures as her role changes. Costume Designer Devon Painter dresses them each according to their standing, so pay attention to what they're wearing. Richard Wadsworth Chambers' unit set is brightly lit for daytime scenes and Brian J. Lilienthal employs warm interior lights in the background for the evening. Ocean sounds and snippets of  "The Best is Yet to Come" are evocative and significant.

Dresser continues to find different ways to examine the pursuit of happiness in America vis-à-vis money and class. Nick and Kathryn equate happiness with freedom from their life of wealth and privilege, but are forced to reconsider their beliefs by the end of the play. Daniel finds his happiness in the bottom of a martini glass and in playing the puppeteer. A master manipulator, he meets his match in Paige. Seemingly happy only when she is saving someone, she shifts her paradigm away from the downtrodden and attaches herself to a powerful force, pressing her own advantage at the same time. Paige may be the one character who understands that the purpose of life is not to be happy, but to make a difference. In A View of the Harbor, Dresser presents both sides of the same coin and leaves it to us to make up our own minds. My conclusion? Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.

 

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