Review: Strawberry Theatre Workshop's THE BIRDS Creeps in Good and Bad Ways

First off if you're expecting to see a Tippi Hedren lookalike being chased by animatronic birds in Strawberry Theatre Workshop's current production of "The Birds" then you'll be quite disappointed. This is not an adaptation of Hitchcock's film but of Daphne du Maurier's book. But even though we never really see the attackers, the evening still contains a good amount of creepiness. After all, the monsters in our minds are scarier than anything they could show us.

But even beyond the feathery threat, Conor McPherson's adaptation focuses on the internal threat, ourselves, as we come across Nat and Diane (Shawn Belyea and Sarah Harlett) who are holed up in an isolated cabin trying to stay safe from the flocks of birds outside that have all suddenly got one thing on their tiny bird minds, kill everything that moves. As time goes on they find that this situation is not just local but everywhere as reports trickle in on the radio until suddenly ceasing all together. They also add a third to their group with a young girl named Julia (Meme Garcia) whose presence threatens to upset the balance of their tiny community. And then there's the mysterious man (Sean Nelson) with the gun in the house across the lake. What does he want?

As with any post apocalyptic story ("The Walking Dead", "Mad Max") where supplies are limited, the outside threats are never more dangerous than the ones within the group. And Director Greg Carter does a fine job keeping the tension of that internal threat alive for the most part. There are a few flow problems at the top as we go from short scene to short scene with lengthy scene changes but that has more to do with McPherson's script. But it does tend to make the show creep along a bit and not in a good way. However once the tension is established it never lets go and when coupled with Reed Nakayama's effective lighting and Brendan Patrick Hogan's relentless sound design it makes for a disturbing evening. And while I do want to give special kudos to Hogan for his spectacular sound design (those birds are everywhere) I do wonder if it would have been even more effective without the underscoring music the same way Hitchcock had it done for the film. But that's just me.

Belyea makes for a wonderful object for the tug of war between Harlett and Garcia as he remains somewhat in control yet oblivious to the struggle around him. Harlett keeps the narrative going beautifully and is a perfect driving force for the story. Garcia continues to impress me the more I see her and manages a creepy duplicity about her character, keeping everyone on her side while using them for her own means. And Nelson, while only in one scene, brings in a truly awkward and creepy character which amps up the menace factor to 11 but in an eerily kind way.

So while I appreciated the performances it was really the script that failed to thrill me. Maybe we've just heard this story too much and without anything to set it apart it's just more of the same. And so with my three letter rating system I give "The Birds" a MEH+. Some fine performances in a show with not much new to say.

"The Birds" from Strawberry Theatre Workshop performs at 12th Avenue Arts through February 20th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.strawshop.org.

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