BWW Reviews: MASS APPEAL at Square One Theatre

After a year-long search, Square One Theatre opened their new season at the Stratford Academy. The stage has been reconfigured into a 64-seat black box design, with seating directly on the stage. This arrangement could have been problematic for me; being considered officially short, I was worried that I would be stuck in the back row behind someone tall. I was also worried about being too close to the action on the stage. Luckily my fears were unfounded, as the first play of the season is perfectly suited for this type of intimate setting.

The play is MASS APPEAL, by Bill C. Davis. This two-character comedy-drama focuses on the conflict/budding friendship between Father Tim Farley, a seasoned Roman Catholic pastor, and Mark Dolson, a spirited and idealistic seminarian who is made a deacon in Father Farley's affluent, suburban parish. The two characters, skillfully played by Frank Smith and Darius James Copland, are a study in opposites. Where Dolson is personally awkward, yet spiritually brash and idealistic, Farley is friendly and charming, able to maneuver around the expectations and demands of his parishioners as well as the Diocese. But when confronted with Dolson's radicalism, and given the opportunity to stand up for what's right, we learn that Farley is too good at playing the game - his need to be liked by his charges and his higher ups has led to resignation and spiritual complacency.

Mr. Copland is very good at conveying a sense of moral outrage at what he sees as injustices in the world and in the seminary. He wholly exudes the intensity of youth and idealism almost too well, treading dangerously close to having me question his viability as a priest to begin with. Only through the genius script by Mr. Davis and the skillful acting of Mr. Copland, do we get to see glimpses of vulnerability beneath the mask of indignity that makes up Dolson's approach to the world. And underneath it all, Mr. Copland is able to convey that Dolson truly is answering a call; he needs to lend a hand to any and all who need understanding, compassion, and help. He is just not very good in figuring out how. This is where Father Farley steps in.

Mr. Smith's portrayal of Father Farley is beyond perfect from beginning to end. He is so believable as a friendly neighborhood priest that I was prepared to make the sign of the cross at his opening lines in the pulpit. There is an ease and effortlessness to his portrayal that creates and air of welcoming to us as an audience. We want to like this guy. We can admire the way he skillfully dodges irksome parishioners, and sidesteps his bullying Monsignor; we empathize with him as we watch him maneuver the dangerous landmine of office, or in his case, Diocese politics; and ache with him when he realizes that his complacency has led to his being complicit in injustices that few people in his position would even recognize.

The production staff did an excellent job with set design, costumes and lighting for this production of MASS APPEAL. Special congratulations need to be extended to Greg Fairbend and Robert Mastroni for the sets, Clifford Fava for lighting, Kerry Lampert and Gaetana Grinder for the realistic costumes, and Don Henault for sound. Even with the small stage, we are transported from Father Farley's small, but well equipped parish office to the church pulpit with ease.

And of course, Tom Holehan should be applauded for his skillful and masterful direction. Father Farley's spiritual reawakening culminates in his final sermon of the play, where he speaks to his parishioners in a candid, personal, and personally vulnerable position. This is where the genius of the direction as well as the new set up of the new Square One Theatre is really felt. With our seats on the stage, and Father Farley stepping down from his pulpit for his final sermon, we, the audience, are transfixed as we become his parishioners. We are the flock that he is preaching to, and we are inspired to change, and to relate to one another, not through the strictures of a rote mass, but on a personal and compassionate level. It is a wonderful relief to be able to leave the theater having our humanity embraced and being spiritually uplifted.

MASS APPEAL runs through November 22 at Stratford Academy in Stratford, CT. Visit www.squareonetheatre.com for tickets.

photo: (l-r) Darius James Copland and Frank Smith by Square One Theatre

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