BWW Reviews: A Journey of Epic Proportions in The Circuit Theatre's THE VALENTINE TRILOGY

Seeing two plays in one day can often be exhausting, not only requiring the completion of multiple emotional journeys, but generally being a fairly time consuming endeavor. But it is not something that is completely out of the question. Three plays, however, is a lot. And that is exactly what the Circuit Theatre Company asks of you in their presentation of Nathan Allen's The Valentine Trilogy. Three parts, three full length plays, three emotional journeys. This festival of theatre is quite the ride, if you're willing to take it.

The Valentine Trilogy consists of three parts: Sal Valentino and the Melancholy Kid set in the wild, wild West, Curse of the Crying Heart in medieval Japan, and Valentine Victorious! in 1930s Boston. The stories all revolve around an epic hero, a masked vigilante with a heart of gold, and the tales of love, revenge, and good versus evil that he encounters. While it is possible to see these works individually, they act as prequels and sequels to the rest and work best when seen in their entirety. The Circuit Theatre Company offers productions throughout three weekends, meaning that you can pick and choose when you'd like to see each, but they also have three marathon days, where audiences can camp out and see all three works in one exhausting, emotionally turbulent, exciting, day.

I chose the latter option and embarked yesterday on a very ambitious expedition. First and foremost, I must speak to the sheer determination exhibited by this company, which presented three fully produced, fully designed, and fully soundtracked plays. Not only must the rehearsal process have been demanding, but the day itself. Watching the pieces was exhausting enough, so I cannot imagine how the actors managed to act, dance, sing, and fight their way through nearly 7 hours of constant performance. I am endlessly impressed with their energy and dedication.

The pieces themselves were incredibly developed, choreographed to the tee, with so many specific, enjoyable moments. All three pieces were fully orchestrated with the ever skillful "Trick Hearts" band, led by lead singer and protagonist Ryan Vona, who effortlessly slid in and out of the action, picking up a guitar and explaining the story's development through passionate song. The music was so on-point, changing genres to fit the setting of each play, but providing a general rock soundtrack that made these pieces half theatre and half concert. If this production recorded a cast album, I would not think twice before downloading it.

The first play, the western San Valentino and the Melancholy Kid, set the bar high. It was an incredibly intelligent production, which is a nod to director Skylar Fox, who utilized clever puppetry to illustrate changing locations, ingenious solutions to the unstageable (bicycles as horses, to name one), and remarkable attention to detail (a character's tooth fell out and could actually be heard clinking on the floor). One of the more impressive aspects of all three shows was the fight choreography, which not only looked real while remaining safe for the actors, but was unique and fun to watch. The cooking scene of this play was hilarious, with juggling knives, throwing plates, and flying flour in choreographed precision. The only critique I had of this particular piece, which came up here and there throughout all three, was the blatant disregard of age when casting. I have no problem with young actors playing older, but lines like "we have been married twenty years" or "aren't you going to make fun of my old age?" are hard to forgive when the actor is twenty two. If a show only casts college students, it will seem like a college play, no matter how well done. Eventually I did manage to suspend my disbelief though and overall, this play was my favorite.

I walked into the second play, the samurai tale Curse of the Crying Heart, with some hesitations, as there was not an Asian cast member in the show. As ninjas fumbled across the stage, I worried that it would quickly become offensive, but was calmed fairly early on in the piece. I soon realized that both the first play and this one were poking fun at the genre, utilizing stereotypes of westerns and of samurai films, while staying remarkably honest in the story line. Being the middle show, this play would be the hardest to see on its own, as there were references to the first (a haunting whistled tune traced through all three, as well as a variety of running gags and imagery), and a continuation of some characters. But this piece worked because it knew what it was and did not try to take itself too seriously. The puppetry, integration of the rock and roll music with the multitalented cast, and sensitively placed jokes surprised me with how much I enjoyed this second show.

The final play, Valentine Victorious!, was enjoyable, but did not quite pack the punch the way the first two did. It was like watching the final season of your favorite television show, where the quality of the program has diminished a bit from the first few seasons, but you watch it to the end because you are so invested and in love with the characters. I undoubtedly fell for these performers and needed to see the trilogy's resolution, but this play seemed the least developed. While the first two had clear genres, this one was muddled; in fact, I couldn't pinpoint the decade until looking it up afterwards. The lighting, which was so bright and beautiful in the first two, was attempting a film noir look, but made it difficult to see the action. The mood, too, was much darker and more hopeless. Perhaps the actors were tired, but everything seemed deflated and I struggled to get into this one. Additionally, the setting of the piece was changed from the originally written Chicago to a more relatable Boston, but quite honestly, the transition seemed forced and it appeared more to be a subtle political commentary, where it should have stayed within a lighter, comic book feel. That all being said, I was still very happy to go along for the ride and wait for a resolution.

Creating three plays with drastically different locations and story lines that could both be watched individually and seen in succession is no easy task, and I loved the consistencies of the epic hero, the musical interludes, the running jokes, and the interactions with the devil. I only wish the list of consistencies was longer. The first two plays shared the lighter feeling and prevalent jokes, the similar set and lighting, and the focus on specific genre. The second two plays shared a story arch and unchanging character types. In a perfect world, all three would share everything. But this was a demanding project, and I believe it was done well overall, script challenges aside.

I must once more commend director Skylar Fox for succeeding in such an ambitious project, producing a work that can entertain and move an audience for an entire 7 hours. All the actors were versatile and dedicated, able to embody multiple personas. As I previously mentioned, I became so remarkably invested in these performers and by the end felt as if I truly knew them. Stand outs for me were Ryan Vona, our hero and a stunningly brilliant musician (how he possibly belted his way through seven hours while still managing to break my heart with his puppy dog eyes, I'll never know), Graham Techler, the adorably genuine good guy who you just want to hug, and Jared Bellot, the powerfully compassionate preacher who guides our hero along in the beginning and then pops up hilariously in the most random of places. This cast was so lovely that I just want to be friends with all of them.

As said before, there are few words that more aptly describe this project than ambitious. For the director, for the actors, and for me, who wasn't exactly sure I'd be able to make it through 7 hours of theatre. But I'm very pleased to say that I found it to be a success. Were the plays and their consistencies perfect? No. But the journey was powerful, enjoyable, and challenging. This was undeniably a passion project for those involved, and I am happy to have experienced it, especially all in one exhausting and wonderful day.

Written by Nathan Allen; Directed by Skylar Fox; Set and Lighting Design by Christopher Annas-Lee; Costume Designed by Corina Chase; Sound Designed by Amalia Sweet; Puppetry Designed by Liz Oakley; Fight Choreography by Trevor Olds; Music Direction by Linda Bard; Props Designed by Julia Schiantarelli and Alex Shames; Makeup Designed by Nate Richardson; Production Stage Managed by Lida Richardson; Assistant Stage Managed by Jake Kuhn and Sara Rosenburg; Master Carpentry by Adam Wyron; Master Electricity by Ansel Hollis; Poster Art (which was really cool!) by Alex Lee

CAST (in order of appearance): Ryan Vona, Justin Philips, Graham Techler, Madeline Wolf Schulman, Becca Millstein, Sam Bell-Gurwitz, Jared Bellot, Ezra Dulit-Greenberg, Natalie McDonald, Edan Laniado, Stephanie Randall, Louis Loftus, Caleb Bromberg, Simon Henriques

BAND: Christopher Annas-Lee, Linda Bard, Mackenzie Dreese, Ezra Dulit-Greenberg, Louis Loftus, Michelle Migliori, Juliet Roll

The Valentine Trilogy performs through August 17th at the Roberts Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. The two remaining marathon days (which, if able, I strongly recommend you attend) are August 11th and August 17th. For more information, visit their website www.circuittheatre.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: circuittheatre.com

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