Review: Blood Wedding
A Noise Within, 234 South Brand Blvd., Glendale, 818-546-1449
by Teresa Willis
A NOISE WITHIN IS BILLING ITS 1991—94 season as “Breeding Season.” They have chosen six classical theatre pieces which deal with the primal urge to procreate, and the sometimes pesky manifestations of this instinct (i.e. sexual desire, societal boundaries, children). The second of these plays is Federico García Lorca’s Blood Wedding.
The play concerns itself with a wedding in a Spanish village. The Bridegroom (Richard Soto) has chosen a beautiful, but strangely aloof, Bride (Julia Rodriguez Elliott). The Groom is rich, gorgeous, hard-working, and kind. So why is the Bride not beside herself with glee? It seems she was engaged to husky poor guy Leonardo (Geoff Elliot) when she was fifteen and neither of them has ever gotten over it. Leonardo married the salt of the earth (otherwise known as Leonardo’s Wife, played by Hisa Takakuwa) two years before and has one child already and another on the way. As the wedding nears, however, he begins to neglect his Wife horribly and rides off to gaze at the Bride through her window. Passion brews in his mighty, manly breast until, on the day of the wedding, all hell breaks loose.
Blood Wedding expresses some relevant truths. If you’re a passionate person, and your passion doesn’t fit into any of society’s limiting little boxes, you will pay dearly. Given that, Blood Wedding certainly fits into ANW’s “Breeding Season.” But the production is tedious and completely lacking in heart and humor. I didn’t like these characters. I didn’t care what happened to them. Deborah Strang as the Mother (of the Bridegroom) opens the first Act with a seemingly endless mourning lament for her dead husband and son. Relief is provided when Richard Soto, playing her last living son, rolls his eyes behind her back, echoing the audience sentiment at that moment. Geoff Elliot’s performance lingered on one hollow level throughout most of the play. He was tortured with unrequited passion for the Bride, but there was not much evidence of conflict or remorse when it came to casting aside his wife and children. And it was difficult to scrape up any sympathy for Julia Rodriguez Elliot’s pouting Bride. She played the consummate brat, but somehow I suspect that Lorca intended deeper attributes for his heroine. Joel Swetow was delightful as the only likeable character, the smiling Bride’s father, turning in one of the show’s only solid performances. And this was a large cast, full of well-trained actors with a wealth of experience. When such a high ratio of actors of this caliber turn in flat performances, you have to take a look at the director.
Stephanie Shroyer’s choreography surpassed her overall direction. The stage movement, the dances, and even the scene changes were lyrical and on the money. They added texture and life when all else failed. Unfortunately, the direction was without clear focus and throughline. The actors seem to have been fed up blind alleys. Shroyer’s emphasis was too heavy on obvious plotline, ignoring the subtleties that Lorca planted for color and depth. Practically every opportunity for humor was shunned, resulting in an interpretation that took itself much too seriously.
The technical aspects of the show are adequate, though I didn’t see a flow between the overall production design and the material. Kay Lynn Peebles’ costumes were authentic, with beautifully detailed pieces, but how did they fit with Bill Gambrodi’s chrome-frame minimalist set?
A Noise Within is a slick set-up. The company itself is impressive and intriguing. Their season is as focused as a grad course. The program reads like a syllabus. The idea of strongly linking the separate plays within a chosen season with one esoteric concept is attractive, but something about the choice of the word “breeding” offends me. What are they really trying to say, here?
I expected more from Blood Wedding. I will go see the other two plays running in repertory (Shakespeare’s The Tempest and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde), as I’m hoping this production is just a fluke. A Noise Within has enough space, resources, and ambition to turn out amazing productions. These people know theatre, but it doesn’t seem like they’re having much fun. ♦