Review: SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER with Tennessee Williams Theatre Company

Playwright Tennessee Williams is a definite master of his craft, possessing an innate skill at storytelling. He excels at creating a time and place that traps you within its web right from the very beginning. Written late in his career, SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER is a dramatic example of Williams' storytelling abilities, which focuses on the power and vulnerability that comes with the truth. Now playing onstage at Loyola University's Lower Depths Theatre, The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company's current run of SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER is a haunting rendition that perfectly honors Williams' 1958 Southern Gothic script.

Director Augustin J. Correro creates a compelling and formidable game of psychological chicken. With his strong cast, Correro plays on the Southern Gothic aspects of Williams' storytelling by finding the more in-depth examinations of the human experience to create a sinister piece of theatre.

The most important character in the story never appears. Sebastian Venable is dead, and his mother Violet (Gwendolyne Foxworth) wishes for any secrets to remain buried with him. At least the ones espoused by his cousin Catharine (Elizabeth McCoy), who was witness to his demise. So unspeakable is Catharine's version of events that Violet has silenced her by locking her up in an asylum. When that doesn't prove enough to ebb the traumatized girl, Violet plans to resort to having her lobotomized so that her memories will be erased, and Sebastian's memory won't be ruined.

It is the delicate power balance between Catharine, Violet, and the people around them that is brilliantly captured by Correro and his exemplary cast. Set in the Venable's Garden District mansion, the play opens with a tour of Sebastian's now jungle-like garden. For Violet, it symbolizes her son's life, unique, exotic and carefully designed. She is willfully blind to the taste for the hedonistic that the garden represents, believing her poet son was chaste.

As the old matriarch, Foxworth is cruelly formidable. Her voice oozes sugar that rivals any sweet tea, but beneath her genteel Southern charm is murderous intent. Foxworth was an excellent casting choice as she relishes in Williams' dialogue, finding the perfect rhythm to display Violet's pain and suffering.

Matthew Raetz as Dr. Sugar creates a moral compass for the story as he seeks to know the truth. While handsome, Raetz's performance doesn't quite hit the mark thus creating a lackluster battle for his soul between Violet and Catharine.

Raetz could probably use some of McCoy's excess energy. As a Cassandra in peril, the play belongs to her. Looking away from her is impossible. However, the buildup towards her telling the truth of Sebastian's death is somewhat lost. Whether she is manic, playful, or desperate, her levels are always on high throughout the production. Ultimately, McCoy as an uncanny ability to transfix her audience during emotionally intense scenes.

The supporting cast adds immeasurably to the world of the play. As Catherine's mother, Lin Gathright has a nervous motherly air about her. It's hard to tell if she cares at all for her daughter, or if her concerns are just for show, which makes her character appealing. As Catharine's brother George, Jay Canova is hilarious at being a horrible person. Whiny, caring only for his well-being, he is a perfect picture of privilege. Rounding out the remainder of the cast is Bianca Siplin as Miss Foxhill and Ann Dalrymple as Sister Felicity. Both deliver fine supporting work.

Ken Thompson's atmospheric set design nearly creates a junglelike landscape were it not held back by the tall French windows acting as a cage while also creating the garden playing area, complete with Venus flytrap. Eduardo M. Ramirez Kortright's lighting design enhances the action with eeriness and palpable dread. Nick Shackleford's sound design creates a haunting atmosphere throughout, complete with sounds of nature and destruction that heighten the tension of the production. Lee Kyle's costume design is utterly striking.

Indeed, if Williams is a master storyteller, then The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company is a master at honoring his legacy and works.

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER runs now through April 14.

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