BWW Reviews: Driver and Greene's TWILIGHT OF THE GODS from Blackbird Theater

Blackbird Theater, the newest member of Nashville's burgeoning community of theater companies, makes an auspicious debut with the premiere of Wes Driver and Greg Greene's smartly written new script - Twilight of the Gods - now onstage at David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre. Featuring a truly outstanding ensemble performance from the 13-member cast (with particularly impressive turns by Britt Byrd and Patrick Kramer), Twilight of the Gods might best be described as a murder mystery cum drawing room comedy cum intellectual discussion.

Although there may be some confusion about the play's ultimate meaning - is it just a comic mystery or do Driver and Greene have loftier, if more arch, motives? - what is most obviously apparent about Twilight of the Gods is the smartly written dialogue and the twists and turns that the playwrights' somewhat convoluted plot takes over the course of two hours.

Set in a Victorian-era manor in the present, Twilight of the Gods focuses on a group of 13 people brought together by their shared dream of Utopia (or perhaps it's a far more nefarious vision that binds them so closely together). The group is made up of such noteworthy historical figures as Edgar Allan Poe, Rasputin, Annie Oakley, Mary Baker Eddy, H.G. Wells, Florence Nightingale, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Friderich Nietzshe and Mark Twain.

Emily Dickinson, Jack the Ripper and Houdini also figure in the play's action, along with the group's leader Rudolf Steiner, a leading member of Austria's intelligentsia, who at the beginning of the 20^th century founded a new spiritual movement called "anthroposophy," that grew from European transcendentalism. It's that historical reality that provides the basis for the murder mystery that grows and grows (not unlike Topsy - speaking of which, where are Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher or Bronson Alcott in this group of high-minded, worldly thinkers - in the sequel, perhaps?) throughout Twilight of the Gods.

It's not giving away too much of the plot to explain that the assembled characters are actually believed to be the reincarnated souls of the historical figures, now found in contemporary, if mundane, human vessels. For example, Mary Baker Eddy was found in a security guard at the Denver airport and Mark Twain was a homeless man, fond of drinking. Steiner, or more to the point his resurrected self, has brought these lost souls together, giving them a greater purpose that is destined to end tragically.

Sounds heavy? Certainly. But does it come across onstage like that? Thankfully and resoundingly, no. In fact, Twilight of the Gods is rather sprightly in its tone, despite the more serious underpinnings of the script. Driver and Greene have created a compelling premise through which they present all manner of possibilities, some confounding, others amazingly cogent. The dialogue fairly snaps and crackles with well-blended fun and intensity, although some plot points are obviously contrived and not necessarily unexpected despite the play's fresh and lively take on the whole murder mystery genre.

Driver directs his cast with an assured ease that ensures a fast-moving evening, something that is essential to a truly riveting murder mystery. The blocking of scenes is generally well-conceived, although there are a few moments that are somewhat static - particularly when all 13 cast members are onstage together.

Certainly the success or failure of a show like Twilight of the Gods depends upon the actors and in that respect, Driver and Greene are given exceptional support by a group of experienced Nashville performers. Kramer virtually steals the show with his wonderfully over-the-top portrayal of H.G. Wells. Wells' histrionics are delightfully and almost epically comical and Kramer makes certain that every piece of scenery remains standing even after his vigorous chewing of the flats.

Conversely, although somehow just as entertaining and memorable, is the performance of Britt Byrd as Sarah, the young woman believed to be the reincarnated Jack the Ripper. Byrd effectively underplays her scenes with a gracefully tortured performance that makes her scenes late in the second act particularly moving.

Michael Slayton is impressive as Nietzsche and his interactions with Kramer's Wells are great fun to watch. Wesley Paine, as is always expected of her, gives a wonderfully nuanced reading of control freak Mary Baker Eddy. Tim Parker, as Edgar Allan Poe, is frighteningly amusing as the man we might consider the father of the American horror genre, and Caleb Pritchett makes a believably besotted Rasputin with his rather droll delivery of his character's randy lines.

The remaining members of the well-cast ensemble deliver their characters to the stage with a certain vigorous relish, adding to the play's rather manic atmosphere. The include Brad Forrister as the patriarchal Steiner; Luciano Vignola as an investigative reporter believed to be the reincarnated Harry Houdini; Caroline Davis, whimsically charming as Florence Nightingale; Joshua Martin as the officious Doyle (who knew the creator of Sherlock Holmes had such a fear of fairies and sprites?); Bethany Jones as her equally confident doppelganger Annie Oakley; Ashley Thompson as the supposed modern-day Emily Dickinson; and Don Maley as the acerbic and plain-spoken Mark Twain.

Jessica Slayton's setting for the play is artfully realized, although the overly long and loud scene changes cause the play's action to drag. Stephen Moss' lighting design is murky and evocative, just what this production needs, and Brian Traughber's sound design is definitely on-target and since the play's incidental music is uncredited in the playbill, I'll give him credit for that critical technical element.

- Twilight of the Gods. Written by Wes Driver and Greg Greene. Directed by Wes Driver. Presented by Blackbird Theater at David Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre, Nashville. Through August 21. For further information about the company, go to www.BlackbirdNashville.com.

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