Off Center Theatre

Through 7/15/2007
Reviewed by Sarah Boslaugh

Pride's Crossing tells the story of the fictional Mabel Tidings Bigelow, rebellious daughter of a very proper New England family, from age 10 to age 90. In the Tidings family, men become Olympic divers and sail around Cape Horn, while women are expected to stay inside and behave themselves.

Mabel has other plans, however: she spends hours training every day and aspires to be the first woman to swim the English Channel from England to France. Her story is both uplifting and tragic, because Mabel was strong enough to swim the Channel but not strong enough to set aside custom and marry the man she truly loved.

Pride's Crossing is made up of short scenes which alternate between the present, in which Mabel is 90 years old, and the past, when she is a girl and then a young woman. In one sense, the entire play is a meditation on families and how we both shape and are shaped by them. In that case perhaps Mabel was the final victor after all, because she outlived both her brothers, and produced a line of descendents who are confident and successful women.

Pride's Crossing will never be mistaken for Hamlet: some of the scenes are saccharine, some are melodramatic, and some simply go on too long. However, the Off Centre Theatre production, directed by Margeau Baue Steinau, gives Pride's Crossing a spirited performance. And everyone who has ever been part of a family, which means basically everyone, can identify with the story.

Pride's Crossing calls for a large ensemble cast, with many players covering several roles. Outstanding among the cast are Kelly Ryan as Mabel, Katie Consamus in several roles, Michael Perkins also in several roles, and Madeleine Steinau as Mabel's daughter and great-granddaughter. The set design by Nick Uhlmansiek is interesting but odd: it incorporates the distorted shapes of German Expressionism which may be meant to indicate the distortions of memory. The costume consultant, KDHX reviewer Kirsten Wylder, did a great job getting the many cast members outfitted in appropriate period costumes, including a stunning collection of white croquet dresses.

Pride's Crossing will continue on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through July 15 [2007], at the Koken Art Factory at 2500 Ohio in the Fox Park neighborhood. Ticket information is available from 314-835-7415.