BWW Reviews: New American Theatre's Consummate I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER

I Never Sang For My Father
by Robert Anderson
directed by Cameron Watson
The New American Theatre (formerly Circus Theatricals) @ the McCadden Theatre
extended through June 5

Fathers and sons, whether a fit or a mismatch, forever struggle in some manner, opening up endless dramatic possibilities. Robert Anderson's memorable play I Never Sang For My Father (1968) depicts an iron-willed, unyielding patriarch in his declining years. Tom Garrison (Philip Baker Hall), a former mayor and member of the Rotary Club, was a pillar of the community and, sadly enough, revered as a model of male perfection. Not unlike many men of his era, he was a self-made man, who rose out of poverty and was proud of it, but quick to judge others' faults particularly those of his own father and his children, causing a rift and, in one case, permanent alienation. With senility setting in, Garrison prefers to stand alone rather than accept the support and care of his son Gene (John Sloan), who tries desperately to love him. The New American Theatre's current production may stand the test of time as the quintessential representation of this classic tragedy of a father/son relationship.

Tom Garrison/bad husband and father is a textbook case. Blaming his wife Margaret's (Anne Gee Byrd) illness for his own discomfort and ill-health, he rages furiously against all aspects of life, especially about spending money, instead of finding joy and peace within. When she dies, he looks to his son for help, but the minute he learns that the son, a professor on sabbatical, may soon move to California to remarry, he disowns him. He had driven his daughter Alice (Dee Ann Newkirk) away years earlier because of her marriage to a Jew. He hated his own father for being an alcoholic and walking out on him and his mother, and when the father showed up at the mother's funeral, Tom threw him out. First his father, next his daughter, now his son. His intolerance remains unchanged, and his evil streak may very well be what has kept him alive and ranting. So sad, but you get the picture and perhaps he's in your own family.

Philip Baker Hall's portrait of Tom Garrison is ingenious and remarkable to the most minute detail. Anne Gee Byrd is stunning as Margaret, so loving to her son and supportive of the man she married. Tom Sloan as Gene is believable at very turn, so victimized yet so very kind and anxious to understand and help his father. Dee Ann Newkirk is equally wonderful as Alice, beautifully real and compassionate toward her brother. The supporting cast, under Cameron Watson's even direction, are all fine, playing a variety of smaller roles. They include: Chelsea Povall, Brittani Ebert, Paul Messinger, John Combs and Tim Halligan. John Iacovelli's lovely simplistic set design with a scrim behind which certain past scenes play out is perfection.

Being a memory play, I Never Sang For My Father has Gene opening and closing the play in 1968 as he looks back on what transpired in 1964. Distance and time heal wounds, but some are too deeply felt. The father's ferocity and the son's delicacy cannot blend, causing pain and discomfort for the rest of the son's life. It's a real and universal image. Thanks to the New American Theatre for their stellar inaugural production.

visit:

www.circustheatricals.com

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