BWW Reviews: ARCADIA from Blackbird Theater Company

Feasting on the banquet that is the musical, magical prose of Tom Stoppard, the cast of Blackbird Theater Company's Arcadia delivers a pitch-perfect rendering of his intellectually stimulating play, under the fine direction of Ted Swindley. Certain to provoke thought and elicit a variety of responses, Arcadia is intricately crafted and imaginatively plotted, staged elegantly and confidently by the relatively new theater company in just its second production at David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre.

Starring a veritable who's who of Nashville theater's leading lights - Amanda Card McCoy, Jeff Boyet, Brad Forrister, Scott Rice, John Silvestro, Shannon Hoppe, Craige Hoover, Denice Hicks, Britt Byrd, David Compton, Wes Driver and Matthew Raich - Arcadia is acted with ease and grace across the board, Stoppard's thoroughly engaging characters brought to life through the rich performances of a group of actors at the top of their game. Responding to Swindley's artful staging, set amid the lovely physical trappings realized by a competent team of designers and technicians, the ensemble effortlessly deliver Stoppard's mind-bending dialogue, creating onstage portrayals that are wonderfully accessible and genuinely felt.

Stoppard's complex and richly textured play - taking place in two concurrent time frames (the first 1809-1812, the second is in present day) amid one bucolic setting (Sidley Park, an estate in the English countryside of Derbyshire) - focusing in the present on two academics conducting research on the estate, in the process discovering the unexpected and surprising ramifications set in motion by the estate's earlier inhabitants. Stoppard's superbly researched script explores a variety of themes, through a series of dense, yet amazingly coherent (considering that this is indeed a comedy), conversations that take on such heady topics as chaos v. order, classicism v. romanticism, algebra, geometry, the translation of classical Latin and Greek literature, the irreversibility of time, determinism, landscape design, thermodynamics, iterative algorithms and even artistic reviews and criticism.

While that may sound somewhat daunting, Stoppard has created such vibrant characters for both eras - and has written them with such affection and without even one iota of disdain or cynicism (even the most cynical of characters is drawn with warmth and good humor) - the onstage action is easy to follow and the events that transpire are deeply affecting and moving. Stoppard's language, which captures the tone of the two times so effectively, uses the colloquialisms of the two eras while infusing the entire proceedings with wit and intelligence.

Swindley's cast is uniformly stellar, with scarcely one false note to be found in their performances. In the play's earlier era, Amanda Card McCoy is brilliantly cast as the precocious genius, 13-year-old Thomasina Coverly, whose grasp of the second law of thermodynamics presages its universal acceptance. McCoy plays her part with such a delightful energy that you are instantly enraptured by Thomasina's zestful glee for new discoveries and her unyielding pursuit of knowledge. As Septimus Hodge, Thomasina's tutor, Jeff Boyet's charm is off the charts, infusing the fictional man with spirit and verve, completely disarming everyone who comes into contact with the educator (and that, apparently, includes every woman on the estate) while capturing the audience's full attention.

Shannon Hoppe, as the gorgeous and outspoken Lady Croom (Thomasina's mother), gives an exquisitely timed performance, playing the grand British lady with style - and a certain earthiness simmering beneath her self-possessed and cool reserve. Scott Rice is at his best as the cuckolded poet Ezra Chater, and Craige Hoover makes a strong Nashville stage debut as Lady Croom's brother, Captain Brice, while Brad Forrister provides good support as the estate's major domo Jellaby. John Silvestro is terrific as landscape architect Richard Noakes, whose work on the estate precipitates much of the play's action.

The performances of both McCoy and Boyet, which are the first to be seen in the play, are so compelling, it comes as something of a surprise, perhaps, that the remainder of the cast deliver portrayals that are every bit as commanding. But that can only attest to Swindley's keen eye for casting and his total control of the situations that unfold before you.

Denice Hicks, as modern day academic and Byron scholar Hannah Jarvis, gives an effortless reading of the role, easily slipping into Hannah's contemporary British self and giving a performance that is winning on every leveL. Hicks plays with - and against - the estimable David Compton, as Hannah's sometime critic, University of Sussex don Bernard Nightingale. Compton is surprisingly droll and self-assured at first, ultimately becoming manic and excitable, creating a vivid portrait of the fame-driven professor.

Wes Driver, Blackbird's artistic director who with managing director Greg Greene is responsible for the company's initial season successes, is superbly understated as Valentine Coverly, a present-day post-graduate student in biological mathematics, whose passion is somehow quietly palpable. Britt Byrd's winsome Chloe Coverly, Valentine's sister, is cunning and quick-witted, yet she manages to imbue the character with a sweet naivete that works perfectly. Matthew Raich, who spans both time frames as the mute Gus Coverly (in the present) and the questioning Augustus Coverly (in the 19^th century), gives a vigorous performance that is underscored by the fact that he remains largely silent in most of his scenes.

David Hardy's scenic and lighting design provide the ideal backdrop for the play's action, managing to look for all the world like an estate on the English countryside with a minimum of extraneous distractions, and June Kingsbury's costumes (particularly her clothes for the contemporary characters) help capture the right tone for both time and place. Special attention should be paid to designer Joe Jacobellis' pre-curtain slide show that illuminates the story played out onstage - and leaves you feeling better-prepared and certainly brighter.

- Arcadia. By Tom Stoppard. Directed by Ted Swindley. Presented by Blackbird Theatre Company, at David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre, Nashville. Through March 12. For further information, visit the company website at www.blackbirdnashville.com.

Pictured (left to right): Amanda Card McCoy, Jeff Boyet, David Compton, Denice Hicks and Wes Driver

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