Community Archived Reviews Alice Sit-by-the-Fire
KDHX Theatre Review - Alice Sit-by-the-Fire
Act Inc
Reviewed by Philip Bozich
J. M. Barrie is best known for his story of Peter Pan, and both of them have been enjoying a good deal of nostalgic attention lately. Alice Sit-by-the-Fire is, according to the director’s notes, a companion play Barrie wrote to help sell Peter Pan to American theatre producers, who weren’t too confident of the potential success of a play about flying children. When Peter Pan soared into immortality, Alice became something of a lost girl, and the play, sadly, slipped into obscurity.
Set in the same time frame, Alice tells the story of the Grey family, who have been separated by military obligations that were not uncommon in the early 1900’s.
With their parents away in India, young Amy Grey and her even younger brother, Cosmo, have found their own ways to cope with learning about life and looking after themselves without the benefit any grown-ups, or of having had the chance to truly “grow up” themselves.
Cosmo has embraced the rigid discipline of the junior naval academy for stability, while Amy manages the family’s affairs, looks after her siblings and decorates the house in whimsical colors, hoping her mother will approve.
Having spent the last two years taking her cues on life from what amounts to a steady diet of bad-romance novels played out on stage, Amy mistakes her mother’s welcome home embrace of an old family friend as a sure sign of a tempestuous romance and sets out to and put things right – all of which goes horribly wrong, in a delightfully fun way.
Janice Bruns-Montovani gives a fine performance as Alice Grey, playing both the high and low ends of the humor in this show with grace. KDHX’s Chuck Lavazzi, gives the character of Colonel Grey – a role which could easily have been reduced to an entirely stereotypical turn as a “proper English gentleman and soldier” – a nice depth, and the two of them come off as an entirely convincing couple of the period. Julia Kofkoff and Ellen Clifford give good service to the roles of the two romance-struck young women who “uncover” Mrs. Grey’s affair, but Christine Brooks steals the entire second act with her portrayal of "Richardson" the serving maid.
The sets and costumes for the show are equally sumptuous, but I found the in-the-round seating presented a few problems for the audience. (I definitely recommend sitting to the left or center of the entrance to the auditorium.)
Director Steve Callahan, who also reviews at KDHX, has put some good touches into the show, but during the narrative sequences opening the main acts I kept hoping for something with a bit more meat, not just lights bouncing around the set like Tinkerbelle. Still, the show plays well, the performances run smoothly, and asking the audience to step out into the lobby twice for set changes wasn’t that big an imposition.
For either the experienced or casual theatre-goer, Alice Sit-by-the-Fire is a fun show with a unique history that is easy to enjoy.
Alice will be playing again July 22nd -24th [2005] on the campus of Fontbonne University, as part of the ACT, Inc. Summer Series. For more information, visit actinc.biz on the net or call 314-725-9108.
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