BWW Reviews: The Texas Repertory Theatre Company's TRIBUTE is Heart Warming Escapism

The Texas Repertory Theatre Company is continuing their 8th Season with Bernard Slade's TRIBUTE. The play was penned as a vehicle for Jack Lemmon, and earned him both a Tony Nomination and a Drama Desk Nomination for his performance. The engaging, 1978 piece introduces audiences to Scotty Templeton, who has just discovered he is terminally ill with Lukemia. As his time runs out, he spends his last summer trying to repair his estranged relationship with his son. Within this scenario, Bernard Slade crafts a heart achingly poignant comedy about the strength of familial bonds and the importance of human friendships.

Walter Baker's Direction of the show is clean; however, the need to update references in the piece seems wholly inappropriate in the long run. With so much of the play clinging to the sentimentality of the 1970s writing style, it feels entirely forced to have the cast name drop Paris Hilton, Brad Pitt, and the Kardashians. Furthermore, the intrusion of cell phones into the action seems awkward and muddled. These elements take the audience out of the show and sidetrack our thoughts and attention. Moreover, the pacing of the laugh lines is often lacking the zealous punch of the vaudevillian shtick that Walter Baker seems to be aiming for, causing the pacing of the dialogue to come across unevenly. Despite these minor missteps, the emotional center of the performance is solidly intact and fully affective, eliciting gasps, chills, and even tears from the audience as the central characters, the father and son, find some reconciliatory appreciation of one another and forge a bond.

Jim Salners stars as Scotty, constantly making wisecracks and smiling. He shirks responsibility and the seriousness of everything, always wanting to leave his friends and family laughing and wanting more. In many ways, Jim Salners' Scotty is very immature and childlike. He is affable and amiable throughout the entire performance; however, it is when Scotty lets his guard down and Jim Salners explores his more tender aspects that the performance really comes to life and stirs the audience.

Jud, Scotty's stoic, reserved, and mature-beyond-his-years son, is deftly played by Kyle Cameron. Jud takes himself and everything with the most severe gravity and magnitude, a defense mechanism he developed in his parents' divorce. Like the character of his father, when Kyle Cameron can explore and expose the cracks in Jud's façade of unflinching morality, he beams with life and earns empathy from the audience.

Katrina Ellsworth portrays Sally with an infectious and fantastic gregarious nature. Where the leading men in the play conceal their emotions, Sally's feelings bubble over and spill everywhere. Katrina Ellsworth's Sally efficiently and effectively wears her heart on her sleeve, teaching both Scotty and Jud a lot about humanity.

Jeffrey S. Lane's Lou is the type of best friend everyone wants. He is trustworthy, loving, and loyal, looking past the flaws of Scotty and going along for the ride.

As Scotty's ex-wife Maggie, Nicky Mondellini is compassionate, supportive, and friendly. Maggie and Scotty are civil with each other and free from animosity, guilt, anger, and hurt when reflecting on their relationship.

Elizabeth Marshall Black's Hillary, a prostitute who favors Scotty above other clients, is sweet, charming, and sexy.

Dr. Gladys, played by Jami Hughes, is honest and doting. She cares for Scotty and wants the best for him.

Trey Otis' Set Design is phenomenal. He fills the performance space with a lavish and lush Manhattan apartment's living room. Everything looks rich and sumptuous. The finishing touch is a gorgeous baby grand piano surrounded by filled bookshelves, a secret bar, and positioned on an elevated portion of the stage. My favorite aspect is the stylized Al Hirschfield inspired caricature of Jim Salners as Scotty that is illuminated in the center of the proscenium anytime the action shifts to the tribute ceremony for Scotty.

Tiffani Fuller's Costume Design sets the show in 2013, mirroring modern styles with ease. The well-tailored and fancifully glitzy evening gowns in various states of elegance and taste worn by the women as they make their speeches at the tribute ceremony are the most beguiling and eye catching aspects of the design.

Eric Marsh's Lighting Design keeps the living room set in warm ambers, with a few scenes utilizing blues and reds for an evening setting. The lighting for the tribute celebration is unadorned and startlingly pristine whites.

Steven Fenley's Sound Design mixes in the sound of a crowd clapping towards the end of the show, which adds a layer of depth to the applause given by the actual audience when Jim Salners' Scotty takes the lectern for his speech.

The Texas Repertory Theatre Company's production of Bernard Slade's TRIBUTE is a great escape from the woes and worries of your own life as you slip into the misadventures of someone else's. Along the way, you hopefully reassess your own opinions on the relevance and importance of the relationships you have with your own family and close friends. You'll also find yourself giggling or laughing too, and hopefully your heart is warm and fuzzy as you re-enter your own world at the play's conclusion.

TRIBUTE runs at The Texas Repertory Theatre Company at 14243 Stuebner Airline Road, Houston through May 26, 2013. For more information or tickets, please visit http://www.texreptheatre.org or call (281) 583 - 7573.

All photos courtesy of The Texas Repertory Theatre Company.

Poster for TRIBUTE at The Texas Repertory Theatre Company.

(l to r) Jeffrey S. Lane, Jim Salners, and Kyle Cameron. Photo by Larry Lipton and Douglas Kreitz.

(l to r) Jim Salners, Katrina Ellsworth, and Kyle Cameron. Photo by Larry Lipton.

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