Author: Ian Mariani
Occidental’s most recent play is perhaps best summarized by its modern incarnation of “King Lear’s” Fool, William the Waiter (played by Jack Sutorius ‘11). In perfect irony, the lowly servant is the most intelligent when it comes to dealing with the show’s various comedic standoffs, and frequently homages the production’s title in his anecdotes with a simple, “you never can tell, sir.”
The proverb makes sense in the context of the show, you never can tell what angle the play will take next. “You Never Can Tell,” directed by Professor John Bouchard, truly breaks out of the categorical restraints of any one genre, fusing classic wit and intriguing drama to create a distinct final sho. The production of George Bernard Shaw’s 1897 play succeeded in cutting between comedy and drama even within the first few minutes of the first act.
The play follows the trials of the Clandon family in their vacation to an English Seaside Resort as a method for escaping the ubiquitous fame of Mrs. Clandon, who has made a name for herself writing on the so-called “20th Century life.” The plot takes a turn when it is revealed, through a dramatic coincidence, that the Clandon’s long-lost father, Fergus Crampton, is a landlord at the sleepy English town they are vacationing at. What ensues is positively gut-wrenching both emotionally and comedically.
Dolly and Philip Clandon (Kristina Gustovich ‘14 and Sean Embrey-Stine ‘13) immediately steal the show with their rambunctious antics that perfectly combine their adolescent charm with the right dash of slapstick humor. But the duo find competition for the spotlight in Valentine, a start-up dentist at their seaside resort, played by an eccentric Jake Mallove. Mallove’s Valentine channels Oscar Wilde in a dynamic character that always seemed to punctuate his scenes with the biting wit and devastating one-liners.
Rounding out the cast were standouts Elizabeth Rodgers ‘13 and Tristan Waldron ‘12, inarguably the characters that drove the plot of the play, seamlessly portraying the 50-something parents of the three Clandon children. Combine Rodgers’ Mrs. Clandon, a strong self-made writer with a feverish passion for her children’s protection, and Waldron’s Fergus Crampton, whose fiery temper brought copious amounts of raw emotion, and you are left with the essential plot arc of the four acts.
This storyline is complemented by the cat and mouse courtship that takes shape between Valentine and the eldest Clandon daughter, Gloria (Margaret Talbot-Minkin ‘11). To watch the two constantly tug at each other’s hearts, combining Valentine’s unmatchable charm with Gloria’s unbreakable commitment to science and reason, was to watch a battle of the wits and the sexes of priceless proportions.
For those paying closer attention, one will notice that the play, while taking place in the summer of 1934, seems to lack the historical accuracy one would expect from any sort of period piece. There is no mention of the Depression, the music fails to match any of the popular music at the time, and, while the young Dolly and Philip are accused of being strongly rebellious, there is no mention of the “flapper” culture coming from the 20’s. and They even still wear the powdered wigs of the early part of the century.
The omission, however, is just accidental to the modern viewer, as the play, curiously, was written by Shaw in 1897 to take place in 1934, meaning that the play represented Shaw’s prediction of what the new century would look like. Accurate costume design, however, resisted the temptation of allowing hindsight to dictate the look of the characters and held true to the likely appearance of the play when it premiered on Broadway in 1907.
But this commitment aside, this play truly rounded out Occidental’s 2011 theatrical season in great thespian fashion. Though subtle, the set design allowed for a fluid production, escaping the clunky set change process by having the backdrops and general set remain the same. This allowed attention to be solely focused on the traffic of the stage. And while Shaw gave the actors a lot to work with in terms of both blunt and subtle lines of humor, none of it seemed squandered in the slightest. The audience remained laughing off the edge of their seats as they accompanied the two arcs through the four acts, all the while wondering what would happen in the end to not only the parents nor Valentine and Gloria, but to the entire hysterically entertaining family.
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