Play Reviews

South Carolina Repertory Company continues to produce high quality shows on Hilton Head Island. Here are excerpts from reviews of previous SCRC shows...

About SCRC's Production of Doubt, A Parable ...

The Island Packet by HEATHER HOEFER

Acting on faith: 'Doubt' at the SCRC

hatever you do, don't judge "Doubt: A Parable" by its plot synopsis alone.

The Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play focuses on a parochial middle school in 1964 where a traditionalist nun principal suspects that the priest has an inappropriate relationship with the school's first black student.

But wait a minute -- the show isn't a commentary about the Catholic church's sexual molestation scandals. It's not even a commentary about religion.

"This is not a play that disparages the Catholic church," says Blake White, who plays the lead role of Father Flynn in the upcoming South Carolina Repertory Company's production. "If you are the staunchest Catholic, you're not going to walk out of here offended. You'll be walking out of here thinking."

"Doubt" actually follows a trend of "thinking" films, plays and stories that are more multi-dimensional -- in other words, it's not a formulaic theatrical vehicle with beginning, middle and end. "It's a one-act play," White says. "The second act is the ride home."

In fact, critics hailed "Doubt" on Broadway as a play that ignites conversation among its viewers, citing its multiple layers of issues involving racism, religion and politics. "It played on Broadway for 500 performances," White says. "It was one of the best plays written in the past 15 years."

John Patrick Shanley, an Academy Award-winning screenplay writer, wrote "Doubt" in 2004 and is now set to direct it a film version starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Tom Evans, the play's director, and Barbara Farrar, who plays Sister Aloysius, decided to bring "Doubt" to the Repertory Company's stage after seeing it on Broadway two years ago.

"The curtain came down and we turned to each other afterward and said, 'We have to bring it to the SCRC.' "

Pat and Hank Haskell, the Repertory Company's founders, loved the play so much that "Doubt" is the longest-running play the company has ever had.

"Our audience is great," Evans says. "They like plays that challenge them."

The cast members were on hand last week to discuss the production. One thing is clear: they say audience members can see this play more than once and each time leave with a new opinion. The Repertory Company will host a discussion forum between the audience and cast members. But the cast and the director don't have an opinion of their own.

"I'm on my character's side," Farrar says. "The actor has to be on the character's side."

"Our job is not to tell the audience who is guilty and who's not innocent," Blake interjects.

Evans says people in the audience are like members in a jury. They will find themselves making judgments based on limited knowledge of the situation.

"The play is really showing us how difficult it is to make a moral decision," Evans says. "It's really about acting on faith."

More about Doubt, A Parable

About SCRC's Production of Broadway: The Sizzlin' '60s ...

The Island Packet by HEATHER HOEFER

Balkin reviving the spirit of the 'Sizzlin' '60s'

When most people think of the music of the 1960s, names like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead come to mind.

But for Al Balkin, pianist extraordinaire, the '60s were all about Broadway.

"A lot of people think Broadway musicals ended with the 1950s," Balkin says. "There were some awfully good things in the '60s. There was 'Fiddler on the Roof,' 'Camelot,' 'Cabaret,' 'Hello, Dolly,' 'Mame' and 'Man of La Mancha.'"

Balkin will perform selections from these classic shows during a limited performance of "Broadway: The Sizzlin' '60s" that runs through Sunday at the South Carolina Repertory Company. But Balkin is more than an entertainer: The former music professor is known for educating his audience during his performances.

"He started out playing piano while working on his Ph.D. in New York," said Hank Haskell, the business manager for the Repertory Company who has worked with Balkin since 1996. "He developed a reputation with people by talking while playing."

And when it comes to the 1960s, there is much to talk about. "The '60s were probably the most influential, dramatic era since the second World War," Haskell said.

The times directly resonated throughout most of the music world, Haskell said. But with the exception of the musical "Hair," Broadway seemed suspended in time.

Balkin will perform select songs from such Broadway blockbusters as "Camelot," "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "Hello, Dolly," "Funny Girl," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Man of La Mancha," "Mame," "Oliver," "Promises, Promises" and "Cabaret."

"I tell all about the shows and composers," Balkin says of his performances. "The audience is very receptive -- very, very supportive. This is their era."

Balkin already has brought Broadway stylings from the '40s and '50s to the repertory company's stage, so a show focusing on the '60s seemed a natural fit.

"It's spontaneous," Balkin says of his one-man-show. "I take my cues from the

audience. I'm a jazz pianist. Jazz is improvisation at the heart of it. It makes it more interesting for me than for them."

Balkin is a former Western Michigan University professor who has taught music at every level from nursery school to graduate school. He has written songs for "Captain Kangaroo" and performed on the "Today" show. And he recently created Tune Up To Literacy, a program that introduces and reinforces crucial literacy concepts, such as nouns, vowels and punctuation, through music.

"(Balkin) is uniquely talented in that he can tell a story. He can also play the piano. He also sings," Haskell said. "He brings a triple threat to the show."

About SCRC's Production of Foxfire ...

The Island Packet by Gail Westerfield

FOXFIRE Glows at South Carolina Repertory Company

Living alone atop an Appalachian mountain, 79-year-old Aunt Annie Nations faces a dilemma: If she sells her land and moves to care for her newly-divorced son Dillard’s two young children, she’ll lose her connection to her five-years-dead husband, Hector, who is still her closest confidant.

Such is the central idea in the South Carolina Repertory’s latest production, “Foxfire,” which tells a multi-generational story from Annie’s youth through to the play’s setting in 1982, while weaving together live music, comedy, Appalachian folk ways, and dramatic conflict.

The idea to bring the show to Hilton Head came from SCRC founder Hank Haskell and his wife, Pat, who saw an early production of “Foxfire” at a festival in Stratford, Canada. Written by Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn, the play was developed as a vehicle for Cronyn and his wife, Jessica Tandy. But during a “talk back” session with the playwrights following the production, the Haskells offered suggestions that included “better accents and more music.” Two years later, the Haskells caught the production on Broadway, and were happy to find “a lot more music and the addition of Keith Carradine” as Annie and Hector’s son, Dillard.

In the new show, SCRC regular Barbara Farrar plays Annie, and Weldon Durham plays her beloved Hector. Durham describes his character as “a cantankerous, difficult man who’s lived a hard life in the mountains, making a living off the land. He’s a mercurial character with many different sides to him,” including his affection for and dependence on Annie, which extends even beyond his death, and his unmet expectations for his sons, particularly Dillard.

Through flashbacks, the audience sees important moments in the Nations’ story — such as Dillard’s birth and Annie and Hector’s courting days — interwoven with the present-day story of Dillard’s struggles with his life beyond his music and his efforts to bring his mother off the mountain.

Matt Mundy, who sings and plays guitar in the role of Dillard, describes his character’s relationship with his parents as typical of that of a son who rebels against expectations that he’ll follow in his father’s footsteps. Though his father groomed him to take over the family farm, Dillard finds success as a musician, which helps him gain independence, but also creates a rift with his father that never truly heals. Ashamed of his mountain roots, Dillard is aware that his music has become a “hokey” interpretation of its Appalachian origins, and while he always believed he never wanted his parents’ blessing on his calling, he discovers that he truly does.

“Dillard needs his mother, and his mother needs him, but neither of them wants to admit it,” Mundy says. “She’s afraid if she leaves, she’ll lose her connection to Hector. I know she talks to him, and I try to encourage her to ‘let him die.’ ”

Evans notes that “Foxfire” offers “a number of clever revealings about how the old ways were, like ‘planting by the signs,’ and midwifery,” while also telling a story of a contemporary family’s struggles to communicate and connect.

While it’s not a musical, production manager Blake White notes that it is “packed with a lot of beautiful live music from Matt.”

Haskell calls “Foxfire” “a good family play” for the holiday season. And Evans adds, “I love this play. This is the third production of it in a row I’ve directed. It’s such a rich and rewarding experience that I don’t get bored with it. It’s like old friends are up here, walking around in this mountain cabin, and it’s so nice to be sitting in their front yard, watching them.”

The Island Packet, by Nancy K. Wellard

Production of 'Foxfire' touches the heart, soul

"Foxfire" is the term for the bioluminescence created in the right conditions by a few species of fungi that decay wood.

The South Carolina Repertory Company's "Foxfire" glows with an imaginative storyline, a captivating script, solid direction and a pitchperfect cast that absolutely transports this engaging play to the anticipated resolution. The production, which moves by turns from extremely funny to extremely touching, opened last week and will run through Dec. 16. This is an unusual, and engaging treasure; you'll enjoy it.

When Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn wrote this play, they offered, in addition to the sociological considerations we associate with the "Foxfire" books, a kind of metaphorical appreciation that they developed around the qualities assigned to the foxfire effect … "dealing with the decay of the old orders as they pass and are pushed aside, no longer valued as long-established ways of living, in sync with the seasons … that the old way must fall that we may see the luminescence of their decay as emblematic of a transition."

It is 1982, and as our play begins, we are treated to the details of the setting. A cabin with a porch, a rocker, remnants of an old wagon, a bush and most importantly, a layered and undulating "mountain landscape" designed and painted by Pat Haskell. Distant music contributes to carrying us to the time and place.

Aunt Annie Nations, now 79 years old, played with dignity and elegance by Barbara Farrar, lives in that picturesque, if weathered cabin at the top of a mountain in Rabun County, Ga., surrounded by apple

orchards, the incredible beauty of the setting and little more. She seems to share this kind of solitary existence with her husband of many years, Hector Nations, played with sincerity, irony and gruff good humor, by Weldon Durham. Both Farrar and Durham, in town for this special production, have wide theatrical experience and have appeared in a number of productions at SCRC.

Through an inspired series of flashbacks, we begin to share in the issues they face, the nature, even the beauty of their relationship, its history and its challenges.

Adding important layers to the story are New York actor and singer, Matt Mundy, as their son Dillard. During an unusual visit to the family home, Dillard provides a kind of narrative role, as he establishes the issues of the old and new, while adding depth to his relationship with his parents and with his own family. He's a well-meaning son, father and professional musician who is facing questions about the collapse of his marriage and a concern for the care of his children.

Dillard's a sensitive guy, aware of his shortcomings, many related to the expectations of his father. He also is sincerely anxious to help his mother separate from the family home and from an unusual relationship with Hector. We see he feels that by encouraging Annie to sell the property on the hill, and to join him with his family, a variety of life's external circumstances would be faced, even resolved.

Now would be the perfect time to mention Mundy's musical performance. He plays a fine guitar and sings some beautiful, deceptively moving songs. Issues of the way he now performs are raised, adding another dimension to the context of the play.

It is shortly after we first meet Hector, that we realize that he, in fact, has left this mortal coil, and now lives actively only in Annie's memory. But that said, how incredible that presence is, and how much she seems to treasure those moments they share together, even though he's been in his "wooden box, under an apple tree" for five years.

When Dillard asks Annie specifically, "When you talk to Pa is he there?" She responds by telling him the most emotionally compelling stories … sometimes directly, and sometimes through flashbacks, about her first meeting Hector, his proposal, her response, his illness, even his funeral. And when in one setting,Hector shares that "She's who I value most," we know that these are some of the mostbeautifully acted moments of the evening. We, from our kind of up-close-and-personal position in the audience, see his dependence and her affection, and the emotional importance of their time together.

Central to the play's momentum is the early arrival of Blake White, who plays Prince, the developer who wants to buy Annie's land for a huge new real estate project.

Adding wonderful texture to the ensemble is Megan Bowers, convincing as their neighbor, Holly. She is a true friend, and because of her long association with the family, adds definition to almost all of the transitional issues they face, reminding everyone at every turn, the value of home and family.

When finally, Annie emerges from the door of the cabin, we and Hector are clear that Annie has given more thoughtto, "to everything there is a season." She had said earlier, "you left me five years ago … I watched you go." It is another season.

Prince nails a "Sold … No trespassing" sign on the porch as Dillon and Annie start down the road, belongings in hand. Hector, as has been his custom, darts out from behind the cab and as he reads the posted notice, says, "I guess that'd be me. … But she'll be back."

This is storytelling at its best.

About SCRC's Production of Rabbit Hole ...

The Island Packet, Friday, October 19, 2007 by Gail Westerfield

'Rabbit' tracks: The South Carolina Repertory Company opens its new season with the critically acclaimed drama 'Rabbit Hole'

The highly acclaimed play "Rabbit Hole," which opens Thursday at South Carolina Repertory Company, takes place in a couple's home, eight months after an accident has killed their four-year-old son. The play won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for drama, received five Tony nominations and earned a Best Actress Tony for Cynthia Nixon ("Sex and the City"), who played the grieving mother, Becca.

But even with such a pedigree, does the dark, loss-obsessed subject matter make this show an unrelenting downer?

Nick Newell, who plays the father, Howie, says that's not the case. "(Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire) was very conscious of not making this subject very melodramatic or painful. Even though it's an incredibly sad subject, it's not an incredibly sad play. It's about coping with loss more than it's about the loss itself. It's a comedy about coping!"

Director Tom Evans agrees. He first caught "Rabbit Hole" on Broadway with his wife, Barbara Farrar (who plays Becca's mother, Nat, in the SCRC production), and he quickly notes the play's many moments of wit.

And SCRC newcomer Ellie Clark, who plays Becca's younger sister, Izzy, notes that when painful events happen in real life, "every emotion is heightened. When there's loss, but the opportunity arises to laugh, it's even funnier than if it hadn't come out of tragedy. So as the audience is watching this, we offer those moments to laugh."

Actress Peggy Trecker, who plays Becca in the SCRC production, said her character responds to her grief at "right angles."

"She thinks, 'I'll get through this by going logical. I just need to do what I need to do,'" Trecker said. "That's just how she deals. But that doesn't mean that she's stuffing her feelings down." (Trecker also admits to feeling a few similarities with her character: "There's a sarcasm about her humor that I identify with, whether I want to or not," she said).

On the other hand, Newell Howie is troubled by his wife's desire to clear the house of all memories of their son. "He still wants to remember," Newell said . "Instead of being painful for him, memories comfort him. Because they're grieving in different ways, there's conflict."

And Farrar says her character, Nat, spends the show trying to compare her grief to Becca's. "She says exactly what she wants to say, and there are repercussions because of that," Farrar said. "She's funny, and you like her, but she's the mother from hell, I think!"

Production associate Blake White summarizes the play succinctly, saying Lindsay-Abaire "has created five immensely likeable, good-hearted characters, each of whom are profoundly affected by this disaster, each of whom deals with it differently, and each way that they deal with it is absolutely respectful and good and worthy. It's just different."

Hilton Head Island Today, by Judith Lawrenson

Rabbit Hole handles loss with gravitas

South Carolina Repertory Company is the fulfillment of a dream. Sixteen years ago it was a tiny block box theatre down on the south of the island. Today, Hank and Pat Haskell have made it the “go to” destination for unique alternate theatre and high quality productions.

Rabbit Hole deals with the aftermath of a family who has lost a young son in a tragic accident. The plot unfolds slowly as we’re kept in the dark about what exactly has happened until events are revealed in conversational or argumentative scenes. The exposition does not seem drawn out, though. You feel as though you are part of their lives and waiting for them to tell you something. Not waiting impatiently, just waiting as you may wait for someone you have not spoken to in a while to tell you a long story.

Each of the actors plays their parts so well you identify with exactly how they feel. I think this is rare in a theatrical production. I seldom lose track of the fact that someone is pretending to be someone else. Everyone was very into their part. Barbara Farrar was fantastic. She played the mother with just the right combination of a whiney, “Oh, poor me. No one ever listens to me,” to the strong, “You can depend on me to understand and help you, darling.”

The husband (Nick Newell), wife (Peggy Trecker), and younger sister (Ellie Clark) were also believable and convincing. They seem to reverse emotions and rethink plans often, which seemed perfectly natural as they shared their grief. This seemed somehow natural as if they were really not sure how to grieve for such a devastating loss. The young boy (Bentley Wynns) had the job of relating a paper he wrote for a high school class to his role in the death and his feelings about the aftermath. This was not an easy job as it all seemed a bit obscure.

I highly recommend this play because of its quality and depth, but even more so because of the topic it raises

About SCRC's Production of Tomfoolery ...

The Island Packet, Thursday, April 12, 2007 by Nancy K. Wellard

'Tomfoolery' is total delight

The good news is that "Tomfoolery" at the South Carolina Repertory Company on Beach City Road is a total delight. The really good news is that, in response to popular demand, an additional show has been added to the run to accommodate those who have not yet seen it.

"Tomfoolery" is a lively presentation of the words and music of Tom Lehrer. Many in the audience remembered the recordings and appearances of the famous songwriter/math professor/writer/performer of the 1950s and '60s. There were some in the audience singing along in places, and everybody in the house joined in when invited.

The fast-paced musical revue runs through Sunday and features a highly energized cast of gifted professionals who bring rousing good humor to their roles.

Sharing acting, singing and even dancing responsibilities are two South Carolina Repertory Company veterans and New York actors, Robin Lee Gallo and Nick Newell. They are joined by Debra Capps and Philip Rosenberg-Watt, both making their debuts with the repertory company.

The show is unrelenting, calling on its talented performers to be almost constantly onstage. There is never a dull moment, and the audience, which couldn't be happier about that, keep right up with the tongue-in-cheek, often controversial material.

The four cast members interact, for the most part, as a quartet, with Rosenberg-Watt at the upright piano lending a kind of Lehrer presence. And through the evening, the piano and a wooden bench provide continuity and support for the sardonic, ironic production.

How appropriate, when the house lights go down and the stage lights go up, to be welcomed by one of Lehrer's most well-known pieces, "Be Prepared." Boy Scout hats and neckerchiefs were the costume of the day and the audience is reminded that these particular boys were, ahem, "one of the last bastions of decency" as the quartet chided the audience with "don't write naughty words on walls if you can't spell."

In seconds we're absorbed in a duet featuring Newell and Gallo sitting on a park bench tossing little bird treats and singing "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," in which Lehrer is at his satirical best. With lyrics like "peanuts coated in cyanide," it must have set back any chance of a good relationship with the Audubon Societies for years.

One favorite gives a nod to the South, as the straw-hatted performers join together extolling the virtues of Southern living. "Pollution Tango" entertains old and young with references to "drinkin' the water and breathin'" the air, each generation relating to what it believes was Lehrer's message.

Rosenberg-Watt's time to shine comes with the famous "Elements" song in which the singer must sing the name of each of the elements within the accelerating musical framework.

There are folk songs about "still being appreciated when you're getting old and getting fat," the famous "Friendship" song, and the Irish ballad "Sing Rickety Tickety Tin." Remember, "she didn't have her family long ... for she did every one of them in, them in ... she did every one of them in."

Lehrer's World War II repertoire offers some terrific material with "So long, Mom, I'm off to drop the bomb." It's done ironically by the distaff side of the quartet, then followed immediately by the men in hunting gear and camouflage suits with allusions to Vice President Dick Cheney during the recounting of the successful hunting trip in which "two game wardens, seven hunters and a cow" were bagged.

There are love songs, too, such as "I Hold Your Hand in Mine, Dear" and "Oedipus Rex ... He Loved his Mother." And the enormously popular "Masochism Tango" with whip and jeweled handcuffs.

The troop brings the house down with "Smut," as they share magazines, books and a laptop ... to catch whatever is "lewd, lurid, licentious and vile." And one of the house favorites is "The Old Dope Peddler, doing well by doing good."

Newell and Gallo bring enormous fun to the evening, their energy never flagging in spite of the always on, always performing, always moving demands of the Lehrer material. Rosenberg-Watt and Capps keep the music flowing, too, with careful diction, comic expression and sideways glances. What a good evening, what fun.

Productions like this one require careful, creative direction and Chip Egan, who directs the performance, leads the gifted troupe through their paces. He is the interim chairman of the English Department at Clemson University. Joining him is his wife, Diane Egan, who manages the stage in this production.

"We don't normally do musicals," Hank Haskell said. "But we did a terrific show a number of years ago, so we just decided to go ahead and schedule it...we knew lots of Hilton Head Island folks would know Tom Lehrer.

"His message is so right today. In fact I'm sure there are audience members from each generation out there that think these songs are about their particular concerns."

About SCRC's Production of Auntie and Me ...

The Island Packet, Friday, March 3, 2006, by Gail Westerfield

'Auntie and Me' laughs in the face of death, dying

If you can't laugh at the pain of life, how about chuckling nervously at the absurdities of death? "Auntie and Me," a dazzling play by Morris Panych at South Carolina Repertory Company, asks its audiences to put aside their squeamishness and fear about the Ultimate End and look at how love, when we let it, can open us up to living.

Kemp (Jim Stark) quits his job and travels (with a mysteriously empty suitcase) to his Aunt Grace's (Pat Haskell) bedside. Though she's sent a note saying that she's old and dying, (which he says he initially misreads as "yodeling") she appears to be fairly well. This does not deter her nephew from reading a grief book and loudly planning every aspect of her funeral and disposal of her remains, as well as getting her to sign a will, leaving everything -- which doesn't look like much -- to him. Though completely silent for most of the play, Auntie proves to be plenty spry as the seasons change, nipping from a bottle hidden under the covers, knitting a sweater, and putting on a little powder. "Why are you putting on make-up?" her nephew asks. "Why not let the mortician do that?"

A year and a half later, Auntie and the nephew still are there. At first, the play moves through a series of short scenes, ending with black outs after hilariously dark one-liners from Stark. Sitting on his suitcase, for example, he says, "Let's not talk about anything depressing. Do you want to be cremated?" As time passes and their affection for one another subtly grows, the play's humor changes, as the jokes turn from Kemp's eagerness for Grace's death to a hilarious, sad look at Kemp's freakish upbringing, one which left him so "resoundingly unpopular" that his favorite childhood toy was a hair dryer hood.

The key to the success of the humor here is that Stark does not try to gain the audience's sympathy or laugh at himself; both characterizations of Kemp's misanthropy would ruin the bizarre sympathy he manages to evoke from the audience. He excuses his neglectful parents in one respect, saying his mother's "hands were always pretty full, what with the cigarette and the Scotch," and his father "somehow knew he was going to die. Of course, he shot himself..." Even his attempts to hasten Grace's end -- which painfully backfire while she remains oblivious -- don't lessen the odd affection you can't help but feel for him.

The mordant humor might not be for everyone but "Auntie and Me" is the sort of play where you sometimes laugh because you can't believe you just laughed. It's not all dark, either. There's also some very well-wrought physical comedy and a very touching ending.

Barbara Farrar, familiar to SC Rep audiences in numerous roles, directs the show, her first at SC Rep, with a remarkably sure hand. The pacing is terrific; few things are as annoying as a play with overly long-blackouts between scenes, but that is never the case in Auntie and me. What's more, the brilliant performances Farrar gets from her actors indicates her own background as an actor.

Stark is phenomenal in a very difficult role, creating a character who's somehow both realistic and completely absurd, a pathetic loser and genuinely good guy. He carries the dialogue virtually the entire play, and in spite of the self-referential quality of the character, never winks at the audience or laughs at his own jokes. Haskell is perfect, too, conveying volumes with a look and never stooping to sentimentality.

About SCRC's Production of Yellow Dog Crossing ...

The Island Packet, Friday, April 14, 2006, by Gail Westerfield

Young and old can enjoy 'Yellow Dog Crossing'

A truly great play can appeal to the child in us as well as children. It can make intricate literary allusions while remaining a simple, beautiful story.

"Yellow Dog Crossing" truly has something for everyone, and particular moments from the play will remain with you long after you leave the theater.

South Carolina Repertory Company veteran director Tom Evans' remarkable script is reason enough to see this play, running at South Carolina Rep through April 23. But excellent performances also abound, and the somewhat abstract set is a star in its own right.

Director Chip Egan, who directed "Yellow Dog Crossing" at its premiere in 1986, has a light but powerful touch with actors, eliciting dynamic performances and believable relationships, and he skillfully blocks them to create truly memorable images.

"Yellow Dog Crossing" is set in what the program notes call "a wide place in the road," in the rural South, 1903. The deceptively simple plot involves a young boy, Sambob (Winslow Mohr), who's sent to stay with his grandfather, Samuel Robert Kinkaid (Weldon Durham), when Sambob's father dies.

The elder Kinkaid was estranged for many years from Sambob's father -- though the audience does not learn why until late in the play -- and his failing health and sight are almost immediately restored by Sambob's arrival. Nell (Barbara Farrar) is Kinkaid's housekeeper and the reluctant object of his affection. Her nephew Vernon (Henry Layton) is a Bible salesman with woman troubles of his own, as evidenced by his love interest, Charlotte (Pamela Decker), a very pregnant teenager.

Evans' script is well-paced, balancing the laconic pace of the rural Southern life in simpler times with the excitement of the plays events, some as familiar as a thunderstorm and others as strange and thrilling as a shared secret.

The actors sound perfectly at home with hilarious colloquialisms like "ready to fall in bed like a gutted rooster," and "excited as a scalded dog." Durham is an especially strong presence on the stage, utterly believable whether he's tender or crotchety, loving or stubborn. He deftly manages allusions to Samson, King Lear, Icarus and Leonardo DaVinci, while portraying the grandfather any kid (and many adults) would have loved to have had. When decades of pent-up sadness and rage at his pride let loose near the play's end, it's deeply moving.

Farrar, who was memorably paired with Durham in "On Golden Pond" in 2002, works well with him again here, and creates a fully rounded portrait of a woman who is truly her own woman, so much more than the term "old maid" would imply. Tough as nails but with a huge heart, Nell also serves as an "Our Town"-like narrator, stepping out of the action occasionally to include the audience in the story.

Mohr is excellent from start to finish, first as an understandably angry boy, but then as one easily won over by chocolate pie and the attention of his strict but doting grandfather. Mohr doesn't have a single false note or overly precocious moment; his scenes with Durham in the "sycamore tree" and in the play's final moments, in fact, were more natural and restrained than many adult actors can manage.

Layton, who was utterly amazing in last year's "Greetings!," shows excellent comic timing and an odd sweetness. He and Decker are well-paired; she doesn't really look 15, but she balances naiveté well with strength, and genuinely seems ready to get the man she loves at any cost and play her part in the cycle of life and love.

Set design and construction, by Evans and Egan, deserve special notice, and Tony Penna's light design also was impressive and added more magic to this beautiful play.

About SCRC's Production of Greetings!...

The Island Packet, Friday, November 4, 2005, by Gail Westerfield

S.C. Repertory Company show 'Try's and succeeds

The holidays are here. Time to bring out the lights, the garlands, the festive fixings. And don't forget the family feuds.

Holiday visits put families in close quarters, which results in some awkward -- and often hilarious -- situations and personality clashes.

The play "Greetings!," opening Thursday at South Carolina Repertory Company's theater on Beach City Road, explores those family dynamics with comedy and a dash of Christmas magic, South Carolina Repertory Company founders Pat and Hank Haskell say.

"Greetings!' makes you think about life, death, Christmas, and celebrating diversity," says Pat Haskell.

"Greetings!," a Tom Dudzick play, premiered in New Jersey in the 1980s. The story, set in the 1950s, centers on Andy Gorski (Chip Egan), a Catholic who brings his young fiancé, Randi Stein (Jenni Rall), home to meet his parents (Sam Smiley and Barbara Farrar) for Christmas. The fact that Randi is an atheist from a Jewish family bodes for a bumpy holiday. And if that weren't enough to shake things up for the Gorskis, Andy's mentally handicapped brother, Mickey (Henry Layton), shocks the family with some revelations of his own.

"It starts off in a conventional way," says Tucson, Ariz.-based actor Sam Smiley. Smiley, who has appeared in plays, films and television series all over the world, is making his debut with South Carolina Repertory Company.

"As things start to happen, it's not very predictable," Smiley says of how the "Greetings!" plot unfolds.

As Hank Haskell puts it, "there are a few surprises, and it results in a very pleasant ending, in spite of lots of crises."

Director Tom Evans, a regular at South Carolina Repertory Company, says "Greetings!" is an alternative to traditional holiday productions, but it still is in keeping with the Christmas spirit. Miracles and magic are not forgotten, he says.

"Mickey transmogrifies in the presence of the audience into what is something like an archangel," Evans says, while declining to reveal any more details about the story.

Actor Chip Egan, who is portraying Andy, says "Greetings!" gives a tacit nod to faith and religion.

"It's a well-honored tradition in American (holiday) entertainment to tip your hat to toward people of faith without being specific," says Egan, who also has appeared in and directed several other plays with South Carolina Repertory Company.

"'Greetings!' celebrates the spirit of every religious holiday," Egan says. "It is a play that reaffirms what all religions aspire to, which is peace, honor and goodwill toward people."

In addition to Egan and Smiley, "Greetings!" also features Jenni Rall, a newcomer to South Carolina Repertory Company, in the role of Randi. Rall, of Austin, Texas, is a member of the Hyde Park Theatre company and also is a contributing producer for the upcoming PBS series, "In Context." Another newcomer, Henry Layton, in the role of Mickey, hails from Louisiana. Layton, a stuntman with the United Stuntman's Association, also is a certified teacher of stage combat and has appeared in regional theater productions across the country. Barbara Farrar, as Emily Gorski, is making her fifth appearance with South Carolina Repertory Company. Her 50-year theater career includes a plethora of off-Broadway appearances, as well as teaching and directing.

Pat Haskell designed the costumes for South Carolina Repertory Company's production of "Greetings!," while Evans designed the set.

Evans says the production's warm message will appeal to people of all faiths and backgrounds.

"A Jew or a Catholic or an atheist can come to the show, and everyone can go home feeling good," he says.

About SCRC's Production of Trying...

The Island Packet, Friday, November 4, 2005, by Gail Westerfield

S.C. Repertory Company show 'Try's and succeeds

The story of a May-December friendship between a crusty, once-great lawyer and judge and his spunky new secretary -- more than 50 years his junior -- could be a very trying play to sit through. But South Carolina Repertory Company's production of Joanna McClelland Glass' fine work, "Trying," continues the company's tradition of presenting excellent plays with talented actors in an intimate setting.

Playwright Glass' own experience as Judge Francis Biddle's personal secretary from 1967-68 inspired the play. Biddle was the Attorney General under Franklin D. Roosevelt and a judge in the Nuremberg trials. He is 81 at the time of the play and seems to be both resigned to his death and struggling to reconcile himself to it. Sarah, fresh from the Canadian prairie, is just 25 years old and is in many ways the complete opposite of the brilliant, fussy, occasionally abusive Biddle. The respect they find for each other through the course of the play from a gradual warming to one another over the course of the play. In a subtle, and therefore believable, way, each changes through their relationship with the other, evolving beyond their initial differences through "trying" to find their way in the world -- and out of it -- together.

The writing is sharp -- lyrical at times -- and realistic, even as it offers a look at a life and times many in the audience might not have been familiar with. Their conversations are peppered with literary allusions, the two characters deal with the issues of their time, relationships, and all kinds of loss.

At its core is the concept of "trying" in many senses. Each finds the other to be a "trying" individual to deal with in the beginning, but the larger ideas concern human attempts both to connect and to protect self, struggles to overcome life's obstacles and the many fears inherent in every life.

J. Michael Craig is simply flawless as Judge Biddle. At least three decades younger than the character he plays, he renders Biddle's frustration with the deterioration of his body and mind with extraordinary skill. As impressive as his physical performance is -- particularly the use of his hands and his wearying lame leg -- Craig also renders difficult passages of dialogue beautifully and with perfect patrician diction and enunciation. Biddle's complex character is not always likeable, particularly when he berates Sarah for what he perceives to be her inferior education and intelligence. But Craig handles these nuances expertly, never going for the easy choices of "loveable curmudgeon" or "impossible grumpy old man." His groans in the first part of the play seem clearly designed in part to elicit sympathy, so they are all the more poignant near the end of the play when Biddle very clearly is in real, excruciating pain and needs Sarah's care and attention much more than he might like to admit. As the fight drains out of him, the light fades from Craig's eyes and his inevitable end, "all passion spent," as he says, is poignant but inevitable, without a hint of false sentiment.

Tracy Jo Junghauser's role is in some ways the more difficult, in that she simply says less and it is for the most part reactive to the bravura Biddle role. In spite of this, Glass has created a good part in this autobiographical character and Junghauser portrays Sarah with strength and intelligence. Like Craig, she resists obvious choices, so her Sarah is sympathetic but not adorable or corny.

Tom Evans' direction is strong, but he proves especially capable at finding a balance between the sometimes elevated language and a realism that makes the characters compelling. Like his actors, Evans has clearly focused the telling of the story on the human dimension, not settling for stereotypes and sentiment. No element of Biddle's wit or the humor inherent in his and Sarah's struggle to form a relationship was lost on the appreciative audience. He also handles the blocking well in what could otherwise be a very static, talk-y play on the small, object-filled set.

The set is, as always in S.C. Repertory productions, especially impressive, given the size of the space with which Evans, who designed it, had to work. Don't leave the space without checking out the amazing photographs on the walls of Biddle's office. Like so much in this fine production, this attention to detail contributes to a truly great theatrical experience.

About SCRC's Production of The Belle Of Amherst...

The Island Packet, Friday, April 15, 2005, by Jacquelyn Lewis

Repertory company stages award-winning play about Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson's name is synonymous with the more than 1,000 poignant poems she wrote during her lifetime -- poems that have been read in classrooms and recognized by literary scholars since the 1890s.

But Dickinson was more than just a collection of words. She was not only a poet, but also a passionate human being who experienced the gamut of emotions from love to loneliness.

William Luce's play "The Belle of Amherst" seeks to illuminate this personal side of the poet, and local audiences can see Dickinson come to life when the production opens at 8 p.m. Tuesday at South Carolina Repertory Company's theater at 136 Beach City Road.

"The Belle of Amherst" draws on Dickinson's letters and poems to create an intimate look at her biography, her hopes and her dreams.

The show, which was staged on Broadway in 1976 and earned Julie Harris a Tony Award for best actress, is set three years before Dickinson's death in 1886 and looks back on the poet's life and times.

Pat and Hank Haskell, founders of South Carolina Repertory Company, say they are presenting the show as a salute to National Poetry Month.

The theater company mounted "Take Up the Song," a play about American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, last April. Hank Haskell says he and Pat wanted to start a yearly tradition of honoring a poet.

"We thought, as a diversification of our program, it would be good to continue to salute a poet," Hank Haskell says.

Maine-based actor Ann Foskett took on the role of Millay last year, and this year, she's back playing Dickinson.

Foskett says she's happy to portray Dickinson and shed some light on a writer whose history might be misunderstood by the public.

Most Dickinson biographies tell the story of an eccentric woman who could not relate to the outside world and spent her time locked away in her family's Amherst, Mass., home.

Although it's true that Dickinson always wore white and rarely left home, Foskett says there was more to the poet than her peculiarities.

"People seem to think (Dickinson) was a total recluse because she was shy and introverted," says Foskett, who was born in England but has lived in the United States since the 1950s. "I think this play shows that she was not that at all.

She was interested in everything going on in the world and was a passionate person. There were many things she felt strongly about."

Pat Haskell, who also designed the costumes and created the set for "The Belle of Amherst," says audiences might be surprised to learn that, in addition to writing, Dickinson also was an avid cook and gardener, and she had close, loving relationships with her friends.

"Even if people know (Dickinson's) poetry, I think they will find parts of her life and details brought out in the show interesting and entertaining," Pat says. "She was not a dull person at all."

About SCRC's Production of The Accounts of LUKE...

The Island Packet, Friday, March 25, 2005, by Jacquelyn Lewis

Storytelling adds character, drama to 'Luke'

Savvy playwrights were putting Bible stories in the spotlight long before "The Passion of The Christ" took the film industry by storm.

In fact, "St. Mark's Gospel" was so popular when it ran on Broadway in 1978 that the show's sole performer, Alec McCowen, was nominated for a Tony Award for best actor, and the show was revived in 1981.

And "The Accounts of Luke," a one-man show inspired by "St. Mark's Gospel," has been an audience favorite, too, says actor Bruce Kuhn.

"It's a great piece of theater," says Kuhn, a former Broadway actor who premiered "The Accounts of Luke" in 1983 at the Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Ky. Since then, he has performed the show all over the country.

Kuhn first brought "The Accounts of Luke" to South Carolina Repertory Company on Hilton Head Island in December 2001.

"It was a big hit, and lots of people asked us to bring it back," says Hank Haskell, who runs the company's stage alongside his wife, Pat.

The show returns to Hilton Head at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the South Carolina Repertory Company's theater at 136 Beach City Road, and runs through April 3.

"The Accounts of Luke" is based on the book of Luke from the King James version of the Bible. In the show, Kuhn says he approaches the material from a storyteller's point of view.

"Luke wasn't an eyewitness account," Kuhn says. "He just took down eyewitness accounts. He was a historian."

Kuhn portrays Luke, performing passages straight from the Bible, sans props or costumes.

Kuhn adds that he chose the King James version of the Bible because it's meant to be read aloud.

"It's incredibly beautiful language, and it was written to be spoken, just like Shakespeare wasn't meant to be quietly read in a classroom," he says. "It was intended to be spoken with intent and inflection."

And even though the show is based on Bible stories, both Kuhn and the Haskells say audiences don't have to be religious to enjoy "The Accounts of Luke."

"People who aren't of the Christian New Testament faith will enjoy it, too, because (Kuhn) is excellent," Pat Haskell says.

"It's just pure and simple theatrical power," Hank Haskell says.

Kuhn adds that the Bible has all the elements of good drama.

"It's just an incredible story, whether you appreciate it from the point of view of a religious person or not," he says.

Kuhn, who played Montparnasse and understudied the part of Javert in "Les Miserables" on Broadway, says performing "The Accounts of Luke" has been rewarding in deeper ways than the applause he got on Broadway.

"I got tired of doing musicals," he says. "Each musical is a great show, but doing it eight times a week for two years, it was fun but the substance wasn't there. I wanted to be an artist; I wanted to present aspects of reality that people deal with. That's the best thing. That's why I love theater."

And, although "The Accounts of Luke" script has remained the same over the past 22 years, Kuhn says the meaning has changed since he started performing the show.

"I was a different person all those years ago," he says. "My whole approach to the material is different. I have mellowed in the best way. I'm not out to sell anybody on it like I was 20 years ago. Take what you want from it."

But Kuhn says one thing has stayed the same: He still believes "The Accounts of Luke" affects audiences in profound ways.

"It shifts lives around," he says.

About SCRC's Production of The Car...

The Island Packet, Friday, February 25, 2005, by Gail Westerfield

'The Car' speaks intimately to audiences

The story of "The Car" is both as simple as its title and as complex as the All-American machine for which the play is named. South Carolina Repertory Company's latest production hums in the memory like a well-tuned engine, long after the lights are up.

Beautifully staged and acted, "The Car," by Carol Wright Krause, details the family history of the Banners, Midwesterners unremarkable in many respects and emblematic of the American experience in others.

The story begins in 1953, the day son Hal Banner (Blake White) says, "My father fell in love with a 1954 Hudson."

The car, symbolized by a wheeled metal frame, becomes a remarkable character in its own right and a centerpiece for the family's joys and conflicts. Its sturdy bulk offers the characters experiences both ridiculous -- a failed attempt to go "all the way" in the back seat at a lovers' lane -- and sublime; a baby is born in the same backseat in a snowstorm.

It serves as a witness to husband-wife and father-son conflict and acts as a catalyst for the "emancipation and liberation" of mother Geneva (Diane Egan) and her daughter-in-law, Sumiko (Emy Baysic) when they learn to maintain and drive it, then becoming important figures at Ed Banner's (Chip Egan) car dealership.

The actors move the car adroitly around the stage to indicate scene changes and work together to create a rather spectacular and believable crash near the play's end. The seamlessly choreographed blocking and the actors' very clear and credible relationship with the inanimate object are both signs of excellent, intelligent direction by Tom Evans.

Evans' pacing is lively, and he has created relationships among the actors and between the actors and the audience that are straightforward and surprisingly intimate.

Krause immediately dispenses with the conventional "fourth wall" of theater, so the actors frequently directly address the audience to comment on the action, on their characters, and even on the play's form. A particularly great moment of this occurs when White plays family dog Brutus on a trip through the car wash. As he crosses the stage in an ear-flap hat, he tells the audience, "This is my favorite part of the whole play," and proceeds to create a hilarious and recognizable portrait of canine joy and terror.

White, last seen at SC Rep. in "Professional Skepticism," has terrific stage presence and impressive emotional range. There can be no faking of angst in a space and a play this intimate, and White makes you want to get out of your seat and wrap your arms around him.

Chip Egan, as the stoic father, presents a finely detailed portrait of a man haunted by personal demons that stand in the way of his pursuit of the American Dream. He takes his frustrations out on his family -- especially his long-suffering wife -- and with booze, or reclusive efforts to "resurrect" the car, believing it will somehow bring back the life he wished for, the life it represents to him. As unlikeable as Ed can be, he grows and changes through the course of the story and, near its end, in a beautifully poignant scene, he tells his son "I believe in repair. Geneva taught me that. Keep it. Fix it. Stay."

Diane Egan as Geneva so completely embodies the archetypal Midwestern mother that its difficult to tell if she's acting or not. She balances strength, softness, and good sense without coming across as a sort of unbelievable saint.

Baysic also delivers a nuanced performance as Hal's Japanese bride, Sumiko, a fish out of water determined to use her strength and intelligence to make a life for herself and her family. Robin Lee Gallo plays her daughter, Beth, with appealing energy and wit.

The car-themed pre-show and intermission music was yet another memorable part of this excellent production.

About SCRC's Production of The Drawer Boy...

The Island Packet, Friday, December 10, 2004, by Gail Westerfield

'The Drawer Boy' a thought-provoking play

Our sense of ourselves is made up of memories, many of which aren't even really "ours" but are stories we've told or have had told to us, that we come to believe as the truth. What is the power of those stories, to heal or to harm? Can a fiction be more loving than the truth?

In its latest production, Canadian playwright Michael Healey's "The Drawer Boy," South Carolina Repertory continues to bring small, rich, thought-provoking plays to Hilton Head Island.

The simplicity of the play's plot, at least in the first act, belies the beauty and depth of its story and themes. Standard playwriting devices -- the fish out of water, country folk clashing with a city boy ignorant of their ways, a quirky, innocent man-boy and his gruff but compassionate companion -- belie a much deeper and more intricate work.

Set in the 1970s, this beautifully written play explores both the healing and harming powers of the narrative of our lives. Morgan and Angus are best friends since childhood, bachelors who live out their days in the thankless world of farming. In a brilliant opening scene reminiscent of great silent film comedy, Angus (played by the remarkable Jim Stark) patiently makes three ham sandwiches in succession, and he registers no sense of having made the others when at last he's able to eat the third. He clearly suffers from short-term memory loss, and, as the play progresses, we learn that his long-term memory isn't sound, either. He knows Morgan (Chip Egan in a commanding performance), though, and depends on him heavily: for subsistence, basic assistance with devastating headaches and for his only link to a personal history; a story Morgan tells him every night about their young adulthood.

Their odd but comfortable life changes when Miles (Nick Newell), a young actor from a theater collective, appears and asks to stay with them to learn about farm life for a play. Morgan barely tolerates Miles, who's clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed. Some of the play's funniest moments occur when Morgan assigns Miles farm chores such as rotating the fields of planted crops at 3 a.m. or mucking out cow stalls with a dinner fork.

When his theater company won't include the material he's bringing back from the farm in its project, Miles eavesdrops on Morgan's telling of the story of the drawer boy and his friend, Angus and Morgan, in their youths. This neat device provides the play's exposition -- or seems to -- and an explanation of Angus's condition, though the story ultimately proves to be more fiction than fact in many respects.

In the unforgettable second act, Angus begins to rather rapidly recover memories, or what he thinks are memories, after he and Morgan see a rehearsal of Miles's play. To divulge any more of the plot would be unfair, but the writing is even better in the second act.

Stark's portrayal of Angus is perfect. It's a sensitive, detailed performance, somehow both simple and full. He is fully present all the time, no small feat when portraying a character whose mind is a blank slate.

Egan is a revelation as Morgan. Physically, he conveys a man who labors on the land but also one who carries many burdens, year after year, that are not physical but psychic. His deadpan wit leavens the play's heavier themes, yet he does not force the darker, more painful moments.

Perhaps because of his relative youth, Newell simply seems less accomplished than the other actors, less of a fully-formed character, and not completely believable as a member of 1970s theater collective.

Don't miss this play...

About SCRC's Production of Professional Skepticism ...

The Island Packet, Friday, October 15, 2004, by Gail Westerfield

'Profession Skepticism' a masterful piece of cynicism

If David Mamet had written a play about cutthroat accountants in Charleston, he might have written South Carolina Repertory Company's current production, "Professional Skepticism."

All of the Mamet components are in the play: rough language, overarching ambition and greed, misanthropy, misogyny and homophobia, dark, witty dialogue that makes the audience wince as well as laugh, and great, naturalistic roles for actors to flirt with almost-but-not-quite over-the-top performances.

But "Professional Skepticism" was written by relative newcomer James Rasheed, and in some ways, the play is superior to the canonical works of cynicism by Mamet and others.

It is at once a grand, even Shakespearean revenge tale, and a consistently funny look at the surprisingly compelling drama inherent in corporate accounting practices. At its heart, though, the play is less cynical than insightful as it meticulously examines the distressing state of our modern relationships with our contemporaries, our vocations, and ourselves.

The simple, utilitarian conference room set has a realistic feel to it, enhanced by interesting light fixtures, drab office-style art, and a dry-erase board, which the actors scribble on during scene changes to indicate the passing of days as an audit deadline looms.

The plot centers around that deadline. Too much story exposition would ruin a good second act surprise, and it would be difficult, in any case, to explain the intricacies of the action of the play without CPA certification. However, it was surprisingly easy to follow what was happening with the machinations and maneuvers that drove the plot -- a testament to the good writing, as well as the clear direction by Chip Egan, who allowed the actors to tell the story through their relationships with each other. The cast also had obvious command of their material.

The performances in the four-person cast were all good, though Blake White, as Southern schlub Paul, and Jim Stark, as sleazy Leo, were outstanding.

White's total physical control of his character throughout the play was masterful. He relished playing a sort of "Everydork," perhaps the most recognizable character in the bunch, the adorable but annoying, utterly eager to please mutt in a kennel full of pit bulls. His background in improvisational acting served him well, as his skills at listening to the other actors were remarkable.

Among the many references to hierarchy and status in the play are a few mentions of the way dogs mark territory, and Stark's Leo is, for a time, top dog in office rank, though, having not passed all of the tests in the CPA exam, his days are clearly numbered from the beginning. A sort of yuppie Iago, he overcompensates for his small stature and insecure career status with a sinister swagger and astonishingly creepy line readings. It's worth the price of admission to watch this guy flick a rubber band and hiss "super star." He locks on to his ever-changing targets with the tenacity of a never-say-die bully, yet his characterization is surprisingly vulnerable in the play's second act.

The thin veneers of Southern charm and religious conviction are stripped away fairly quickly to reveal real avarice and hypocrisy. "Yankee" Greg, played by Nick Newell, seems sweet enough, at first, but his church-going is revealed to be only a part of his Ambitious Young Man costume, not unlike his Brooks Brothers suit. He quickly shows an un-Baptist facility for sprinkling profanity into conversation and a fondness for Leo's gross stories. Greg is more chameleon than Christian, reducing his ostensible religious convictions to convenient, and, as it turns out, revealing aphorisms like, "God helps those who helps themselves."

Peggy Trecker plays Margaret, a steely, insincere party girl who more than holds her own in this bad boys' club. The character did not feel as fleshed out or as fully realized in some ways as the men's characters, yet another trait Rasheed's play has in common with Mamet's work.

About SCRC's Production of Take Up the Song ...

The Island Packet, Friday, April 23, 2004, by Louise Lewis

Drama, verse mesh in theater's 'Song'

Ann Foskett bears a marked resemblance to Lauren Bacall. Tall, stately, and slim, she has clear, unhurried diction and an air of elegance that complement her poetry readings.

She appeared at South Carolina Repertory Company in a brief run of "Take Up The Song," a celebration of the life and work of Edna St Vincent Millay that she co-authored with the late Ramona Barth. Local actor Pat Haskell played the role of biographer and commentator, taking the audience on a chronological journey through Millay's life and works.

The two women sat in an elegant, yet comfortable parlor of early 20th century decor. Surrounded by books, paintings and bric-a-brac, they wore velvet and silk gowns and sipped from crystal martini glasses as they explored the vivid personality behind Millay's poetry.

Foskett became Millay through her lines of poetry. Beginning with a duet entrance of "Renascence," Millay's first great poem, her entire script was based on verses by the esteemed poet.

"The Buck in the Snow" reflects Millay, the animal lover, who identified with the hunted rather than the hunter. Nature runs throughout the verses, particularly the wild Maine coastline where she grew up.

Music, women's rights, motherhood and death all are recurring themes in Millay's poetry. She combined all of these themes in "The Harp-Weaver," the title poem of the book that won her a Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

The two actors shifted easily between information and verse -- so easily that it was sometimes difficult to discern where one ended and the other began.

Foskett reacted to Haskell's information as Millay herself might, reflecting agreement, amusement or irritation as the situation required. Haskell, on the other hand, sat quietly and attentively during Foskett's readings, not calling attention to herself.

The hour-long production ended with the command to "Take Up The Song," a line most closely associated with Millay but not her own -- poet John Greenleaf Whittier penned it in 1867 as part of a hymn text.

The performance was followed with the audience having an opportunity to ask Haskell and Foskett questions.

South Carolina Repertory Company's next season will begin in the fall.

About SCRC's Production of Collected Stories ...

The Island Packet, Friday, March 26, 2004, by Louise Lewis

'Collected Stories' tells a tale of two artists

"Collected Stories" is a contemporary and provocative play by playwright Donald Margulies. It's the kind of story that might direct you into extended thought about the two characters and their relationship, or it easily could become the subject of lively late-night discussions with friends. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, the 1997 play explores the universal and ever-changing roles of mentor and student.

South Carolina Repertory Company's current production of this intriguing drama features insightful and sympathetic performances by actors Barbara Farrar and Gillian Watson.

The show also benefits from strong and solid direction by Pat Haskell and Tom Evans, a lavish and meticulous set by Evans, Haskell's provocative background music and stylish, flattering costumes, also by Haskell.

Watson is cast as Lisa Morrison. She first appears as an ambitious young graduate student, seeking guidance and wisdom of Farrar's Ruth Steiner in advancing her own career as a writer. A former student of co-director Tom Evans, Watson is making her local stage debut. Both brilliant and beautiful, she blossoms through the six-year span of the play from eager, insecure student into a successful, published author. Her changing relationship with Steiner through these years gently unfolds with the touch of a true artist.

Farrar is a stage veteran who is well-known locally for her appearances in other company productions, including "W;t," "Last Lists of My Mad Mother" and "On Golden Pond."

In this production, Farrar plays the part of Steiner, an older, rather cranky professor who also is a renowned author of short stories. Dry, droll delivery and distinctive mannerisms punctuate Farrar's performance as she moves through the years. From hearty, mature academic to sickly, failing senior, her face and body reflect the passing years with startling accuracy.

Each scene reflects both the passage of time and evolutionary stages in the relationship. Watson's Lisa grows from the callow young student into Steiner's assistant, then into a colleague and finally an adversary. Feeling that she has exhausted her Waspish, Princetonian roots on her short stories, Morrison has based her first novel, "Miriam's Book," on Steiner's untold personal story -- the story of a young Jewish writer in New York City, complete with tales of youthful passion that Steiner told her in confidence, never intending them to become public property.

Margulies admittedly was inspired by similar real life situations, specifically the David Leavitt/Stephen Spender controversy. He leaves the ending unresolved, and it is difficult to pass judgment since he has portrayed both women with warmth and sympathy. Morrison's novel is full of love and warmth, but Steiner angrily calls her a hitchhiker, claiming that she "... appropriated my life."

About SCRC's Production of Collected Stories ...

The Island Packet, Friday, March 12, 2004, by Gail Westerfield

Play explores competitive nature of creativity

Through more than 50 productions, South Carolina Repertory Company has challenged its audiences with theater that does more than just entertain.

Its plays provoke thought and discussion, and its most recent production, "Collected Stories" by Donald Margulies, is no exception.

The play, jointly directed by Tom Evans and Pat Haskell, explores provocative questions about artists -- in this case, two women artists -- and their art.

The plays chosen by the theater company also reflect its emphasis on works that are "no frills," small-scale and that offer an intimacy between the cast and the audience.

"They need to be good, well-written plays and ones we can cast properly, with no more than five people," Haskell says. "We also don't want elaborate sets."

About SCRC's Production of Four Beers ...

The Island Packet, Friday, February 27, 2004, by Louise Causey-Lewis

'Four Beers' allows characters to drown their sorrows

he South Carolina Repertory Company continues to present superlative productions of contemporary plays. Its latest offering is "Four Beers," a poignant two-act comedy by David Van Vleck.

Director Tom Evans was involved with the initial presentation of the play at a workshop four years ago, and immediately began his quest for a public production. Since then, "Four Beers" has won the Dayton Playhouse FutureFest and has gathered some very favorable reviews for its Rattlestick Theatre production in New York City, proving that Evans has a keen eye for a winner.

The play is set in a suburban New Jersey bar where four friends meet weekly to share a beer and the traditional televised Monday night football game. Clemson University professor Chip Egan plays Frank, a dry cleaner; George, an auto mechanic, is played by John Woodson from Greenville's Warehouse Theatre; Phil, a photographer and photo shop owner, is played by former Island thespian Beau Phillips; and veteran actor Michael Craig portrays Mitch, the barber. Mel, a postman who joins the quartet for the last third of the show, is played by New York actor Blake White. Mel, by the way, drinks rye, not beer.

On this particular Monday evening, the television set is broken, so the friends are forced into conversation in lieu of football. The men exchange thoughts about a variety of subjects -- women in general, wives, infidelity, vacations, life insurance, retirement, childhood dreams, cars, stamp collecting, among them. All four are approaching retirement age, and all have fallen short of their individual expectations and dreams.

The possible infidelity of Vivian, Frank's wife, is a thread running throughout the play. Supposedly a secret, it becomes a subject of general conversation, until possibility becomes fact in everyone's mind. Egan's Frank, the pillar of respectability, becomes increasingly distraught as the evening progresses, distressed at the idea that it might be the ever-present dry cleaning fumes that have driven his wife astray.

Woodson, while physically presenting the perfect picture of George, also portrays his character with conviction. A fervently patriotic, firmly opinionated "Archie Bunker" type, with rather curious ideas about world religion, Woodson manages to be simultaneously funny and irritating. It would be so easy to overplay this role, to shout just a little too loudly. Woodson hits his character right on the mark with wise professionalism and refrains from taking the role over the edge.

Craig delivers Mitch's innocently inane lines with classic comic timing and a remarkable air of naivete. His simple, loving personality is devoted to his wife, Cindy, who has never quite recovered from the death of their son 20 years ago. His attitude of calm acceptance seems to be the perfect foil for George's blustering.

Phillips approaches the character of Phil with edgy anxiety. An artistic philosopher, Phil's various entrepreneurial schemes have been reduced to one photo shop, and he has exhausted his life's savings on failed ideas.

White's weary character Mel throws everyone else's shortcomings into even sharper focus. Although he has just lost his wife, Mel can find consolation in early retirement from the postal service, life insurance benefits, successful mutual funds, an upcoming European vacation and tomorrow's brunch with the beautiful, newly widowed Patricia Kelly. Ironically, he has left his wallet at home, and the less prosperous men end up treating him to several double ryes and a steak dinner. Before leaving, Mel innocently releases a bombshell of information that throws the four regulars into shock.

While billed as a comedy by the playwright, "Four Beers" has sad and tragic undertones running through it.

Also see Boys Night Out: Comedy "Four Beers" spends an evening with five guys by Angela Boucher.

About SCRC's Production of Cotton Patch Gospel ...

The Island Packet, Friday, November 28, 2003, by Angela Boucher

Praise the Lord and pass the saltines, please: "Cotton Patch Gospel" brings regional flavor to sacred text

What would Jesus do -- if he had lived in Georgia 60 years ago?

The South Carolina Repertory Company brings this question to the stage in "Cotton Patch Gospel."

It's the second time the theater group has staged the show, which is "back by popular demand."

"We turned away so many people last year that didn't get to see it," said Pat Haskell, director of both shows.

Actor Bruce Kuhn and the Lowcountry Boil Bluegrass Band also are reprising their roles for the production.

The show may involve the same band, actor, and director as last year, but it promises even more fun this time around.

"We are adding more music," Haskell said.

The theater group was so pleased with the music from last year's production that they are adding songs and lyrics to more closely match the original musical score by Harry Chapin.

"Cotton Patch Gospel," written by Tom Key and Russell Treyz, is based on the book "The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John" by Clarence Jordan.

"Anybody who loves the New Testament should see the show," Haskell said, adding that it has a wide appeal. "It's really for anyone. There is nobody that shouldn't see it."

The musical drama retells the Gospels of Matthew and John, set in modern times.

The modern-day stable is a trailer park. A modern-day shepherd -- a cattle farmer -- spots the star of Bethlehem. In the play, Jerusalem and Nazareth are Atlanta and Valdosta, Ga., respectively.

Set in a provincial town in Georgia, the musical uses humor and emotion to tell the story of Jesus and his struggle to share his important message.

With five boxes of saltines and two can of sardines, Jesus feeds 5,000 people. He turns water into wine on a second try. He is betrayed by his friend, Jud. When he proclaims that he will die to save the world, Georgia Gov. Pilot sends his men to commit Jesus to Leesburg Correctional Institute.

Haskell said the musical is true to the Bible, with a slightly different tune.

"It's exceptionally well done," Haskell said. "It's a full-length musical drama with humor in it."

The cast for this show is small. Kuhn will perform all the acting and speaking parts.

He is coming to Hilton Head Island from his home in Holland to perform in the show. His other credits include "Les Miserables" on Broadway and the national tour of "Cotton Patch Gospel."

Lowcountry Boil Bluegrass Band is a Bluffton-based band. The group will be performing bluegrass music to help Kuhn tell the story.

Chapin's lyrics are clever and sometimes comical, heightened by the talent of the band. In one song, "Spitball," they sing "Spitball me Lord over the home plate of life."

Also see 'Cotton Patch' a funny familiar tale

About SCRC's Production of Stones in His Pockets...

The Island Packet, Friday, November 21, 2003, by Louise Causey-Lewis

Simple sets, talented cast make 'Stones' a delight

The South Carolina Repertory Company continues to offer bold, contemporary drama.

Its current production, "Stones in His Pockets," has been a hot ticket in the major metropolitan areas since its Dublin premiere in 1999, winning several prestigious awards and nominations. Deft direction by Tom Evans and outstanding performances by two talented actors place this local production on a par with any in much bigger cities.

Playwright Marie Jones has set her tidy little drama in County Kerry, Ireland, where a Hollywood movie is being made. Locals are queuing up to earn a daily wage of 40 pounds, plus meals. Charlie Conlon and Jake Quinn, played by Craig Doescher and David Gravens respectively, are two of those extras; and it is through their eyes that the story unfolds.

Doescher and Gravens are the only two actors on stage, but between them, some 14 additional characters take shape. With a shift of voice, the assumption of a new facial expressions, and changes in body language, the talented duo becomes a comic array of outlandish characters.

The most memorable include Carolina Giovanni (Doescher), the gorgeous but unprincipled leading lady, who makes a play for Jake; Aisling (Gravens), the flirtatious production assistant, with a comic "California Girl" air; Simon (Doescher), the first assistant director, whose woeful lack of understanding of local customs almost shuts the film's production down; Old Mickey (Gravens), another local, the only surviving extra from "The Quiet Man," who almost has a heart attack at the idea of a funeral with no alcohol; and Sean Harkin (Gravens), Jake's tormented and confused relative who commits suicide by walking into the water with stones in his pockets.

Doescher and Gravens accomplish their astonishing metamorphoses without the aid of costume changes, props, or scenery shifts. The first few changes are a shock to the senses, as the viewer struggles to incorporate the swift shifts in tempo into the flow of the dialogue. After a few minutes, the audience let out a collective sigh of relief and visibly relaxed as they perceived the playwright's dramatic device. There is a certain kind of mass satisfaction in feeling that you are all part of a clever secret.

Becoming a wealthy part of the movie industry has become part of the town ambition. Jake dreams and schemes about achieving success through his distinctive good looks. Charlie carries around his original movie script throughout the play, trying to show it to various people connected with the movie being filmed.

The two men finally come up with a new plot, a twist on the typical Hollywood theme -- they dream up a story in which the tables are turned, where the extras are in reality the stars and the stars, the extras. They will tell the story of Sean Harkin's tragic life and death by reversing the plot they have been acting out. Plus, the film will feature acres of cows, a metaphor for local success or failure.

Finally getting an appointment with the film's director, Jake and Charlie are told that the life is tough enough -- people don't go to the movies to be depressed. The jaded director begins to mentally rewrite their ideas into standard Hollywood format, changing the role of Sean to a female in the process.

Undeterred, the two friends gleefully continue their original planning, now having a purpose and a point to life. There is a certain irony in the fact that Jones has resorted to a predictable happy ending herself!

"Stones in His Pockets" is a study in minimalism. The stage is relatively bare, with nothing more than a crude wooden platform with a row of shoes underneath. Scenery consists of a stylized painting as a backdrop -- a long, low strip of water, islands and hills. Costumes are simple and rustic, and there are no changes. Background music consists of Celtic tunes alternating with the lush, lavish sounds of a Hollywood soundtrack.

Yet, when I left the theater, I felt as though I had seen a cast of hundreds set in the verdant green Irish countryside. Such is the talent of Doescher and Gravens and their adroit interpretation of Jones snappy dialogue.

Also see Rock Solid: South Carolina Repertory Company's 'Stones in His Pockets' showcases actors' versatility by Angela Boucher.

About SCRC's Production of PROOF...

The Island Packet, Friday, April 18, 2003 , by Louise Causey-Lewis

'Proof' draws parallels between life, math

"Proof," the award winning play by David Auburn, is in the middle of a 15-show run by the South Carolina Repertory Company. The play opened on Broadway in the fall of 2000 and won both the 2001 Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize.

Pat and Hank Haskell gave a wonderful gift to the area when they founded the company. Not only have they contributed diverse, eclectic and timely dramatic offerings, but they also have brought in professional direction and top quality actors for these plays.

Renowned director Tom Evans has returned to oversee his ninth show for the company. The four-member cast includes two familiar faces and two new ones.

Rebecca Robinson, a resident of Austin, Texas, plays the role of Catherine, her fourth role with the company. Island resident John David Rose plays the part of her father, Robert. Blake White makes his first appearance in the role of Hal, as does Jessica Hedrick as Claire.

The setting is the porch and yard of a dilapidated old house near the University of Chicago. The opening scene is a conversation between Robert, a famous mathematician and university professor who made unique contributions to modern math, and his younger daughter Catherine.

Catherine has devoted years of her life to caring for her father, who gradually slipped into dementia. She has inherited much of her father's genius, but it appears that she also may have inherited his propensity for mental illness as the conversation takes place on the day of his funeral.

Hal, Robert's former student, is digging through a mountain of notebooks that Robert kept during his last years. Most of them are rambling gibberish, written when he was mad, but Hal is hoping to discover some lucid moments and more great mathematical proofs that will match the brilliance of Robert's youth.

Catherine's older sister, Claire, is the only non-mathematician of the group. Dreadfully practical and boring, Claire plans to sell the house and take Catherine back to New York City with her to find proper medical treatment.

When Hal finds an extraordinary proof in a locked bottom drawer, the tension rises dramatically. The question is, who wrote the proof, Robert or Catherine?

The theme of the play is deeper than mathematics, or the mystery of the proof's authorship. It is about love -- the deep love between father and daughter that is heightened by their mutual admiration and understanding of mathematics, and the growing love between Catherine and Hal that solidifies when their mutual mathematic understanding is acknowledged.

Robinson is outstanding in her portrayal of Catherine, carrying her many mood swings with finesse and physically showing the ups and downs of the character's existence. Rose has chosen to play Robert with calm sobriety rather than the electric mania one might expect of his character. The easy delivery suits his style, and we can easily sense the overwhelming love and pride he feels for Catherine and the overwhelming sadness he feels at not being able to work.

White is a perfect Hal in many ways, but perhaps too handsome and athletic to be a typical math geek. He regresses in age and appearance during a flashback to his first encounter with Catherine, and matures rapidly during the short course of the play.

Hedrick plays Claire with familiarity and ease, recapping her role with Austin State Theater. She yammers nonstop about her future husband, the advantages of New York, shopping and recipes, never stopping to really look at her younger sister, never recognizing her unique abilities. Hedrick succeeds in making us truly dislike her character.

About SCRC's Production of Some Things you Need to Know Before the World Ends (A Final Evening with the Illuminati)...

The Island Packet, Friday, February 21, 2003 , by Laura Marble

Comedy shines light on religion

Imagine this: You've survived a holocaust. For all you know, you're one of only a few people left on Earth. You've come to a bombed-out church seeking solace -- direction, perhaps.

There's only one problem.

Your religious mentor is stark-raving mad.

This disconcerting scenario is the basis of the South Carolina Repertory Company's upcoming comedy "Illuminati," which casts the audience as a church congregation.

About SCRC's Production of Cotton Patch Gospel...

The Island Packet, Friday, December 13, 2002 , by Louise Causey-Lewis

Kuhn shines in 'Gospel'

The South Carolina Repertory Company's current production of "Cotton Patch Gospel" is sensational.

The featured performer is Bruce Kuhn, who also was cast in a national tour of the show. A local band, The Lowcountry Boil Bluegrass Band, does dynamite backup of the clever, catchy tunes and lyrics of Harry Chapin.

A smattering of knowledge about Georgia geography and politics is helpful, but not totally necessary, for full appreciation of this unusual setting. The play retells the Gospel of St. Matthew, set 60 years ago in Valdosta, Ga. Program notes inform us that "...It was first (translated) by Dr. Clarence Jordan, New Testament Greek scholar and founder of an interracial farming community in Americus, Ga., in the 1950s."

From this description, we might assume that the play leans toward the sacrilegious zone, but don't jump to premature conclusions. After laughing and crying through 90 minutes of hysterical humor, I was stunned to realize that I had just experienced a deeply moving, boldly conceived, professionally executed performance that had both my brain cells and emotions running in high gear. In addition to being a funny parody of the Southern personality, "Cotton Patch Gospel is a profoundly moving religious experience.

Bruce Kuhn has full mastery of the primary role of Jesus. But with clever and subtle changes in posture, facial expression, gestures, and other carefully controlled mannerisms, he can instantly assume a multitude of guises, including a Southern politician, a distraught father, a "good old boy," a country evangelist or a young, naive disciple. Never stumbling or dropping a line, Kuhn carries the show, pausing occasionally for a solo song or an ensemble number with the band. He is a brilliant actor, possessing rare skills and highly polished talents.

The sparse, minimalistic set suits the mood and style of the play and proves to be amazingly versatile, as basic table and chairs assume other utilitarian functions. No program credits were given for the set, costumes or lighting, but the excellence and continuity of style were typical of the talented hand of director Pat Haskell.

About SCRC's Production of On Golden Pond...

The Island Packet, Friday, September 27, 2002 , by Erin Becker

New season of theater begins with 'On Golden Pond'

"We picked it because it's a really delightful piece of entertainment," said Tom Evans, the show's director. "It's a very life-affirming show, and it's very funny."

The play, which originally opened Feb. 28, 1979, on Broadway at the New Apollo Theatre, also was made into the 1981 movie of the same title, starring Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn.

Set at a summer cottage on the idyllic Golden Pond in Maine, the play is about Norman Thayer, a retired professor in his late 70s, and how he confronts old age.

It also takes a look at the relationships between Norman and his wife, Ethel, and those with his daughter, Chelsea, and her new stepson, Billy.

Somewhat of a cantankerous fellow, played by Weldon Durham (who appeared in last year's "God's Man in Texas"), Norman is described by Evans as someone who "says all the things we wish we could say."

But Ethel, who's 10 years Norman's junior, helps to keep him in check. Ethel is played by Barbara Farrar, who has appeared in the theater company's productions of "W;t" and "Last Lists of My Mad Mother."

About SCRC's Production of Last Train to Nibroc...

The Beaufort Gazette, March 14, 2002, by Gail Westerfield

Audiences long for simpler times in repertory play

In a post-modern, post-Sept. 11 world, perhaps one of the riskiest acts for an artist is to produce something that is simply sweet. South Carolina Repertory Company, which I have praised repeatedly for its daring productions for adult audiences, is daring for the next two weeks to take a chance on their audience's need to reminisce, in the case of the older generations, or to wistfully wonder if love could have ever really been so simple, in the case of people closer to my age.

Last Train to Nibroc is a little confection of a play in three acts about a young pilot discharged from the service before he's shipped to Europe and the "goody-two shoes" would-be missionary he meets on the train home. He is good-looking and charming, a country boy from Kentucky whose "fits" are getting him sent back home. She is prissy even by 1940 standards, but also from Kentucky, and they strike up a friendship that becomes a romance of sorts, though most of the courting happens offstage.

The third act was my favorite, primarily because the characters and their relationship had matured and the actors seemed to feel less compulsion to "act." In this act the audience longs most for simpler times, with a porch swing and the promise of true love.

About SCRC's Production of Last Lists of My Mad Mother...

The Island Packet, Friday, February 1, 2002, by Louise Causey-Lewis

'Last Lists' a reflection of arthor's experience

Once again the South Carolina Repertory Company is offering a fresh, contemporary, dramatic gem. "Last Lists of My Mad Mother," a 1997 play... opened last week to a full appreciative house.

About SCRC's Production of God's Man in Texas...

The Island Packet, Friday, October 12, 2001, by Louise Causey-Lewis

'God's Man in Texas' a timeless story of struggle.

"God's Man in Texas" is one of the most stunning, thought-provoking plays of recent years. Opening last week for a short run at the South Carolina Repertory Company on Beach City Road, the drama is a polished, profound gem, with deft diction and superb acting...

Selected Quotes About the 2001-2001 Season

About SCRC's 2001 Production of W;t...

The Island Packet, Friday, March 16, 2001, by Louise Causey-Lewis

'W;t' has pathos, poetry, something sublime

Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "W;t" is the "must-see" production of the spring. Currently playing at the South Carolina Repertory Company, this stunning drama about love and knowledge, life and death, is a highly original artistic creation, possibly one of the best plays of the past decade...

A strong supporting cast, well cast and directed by Tom Evans, surrounds the central character. John David Rose doubles as both Dr. Kelekian, Vivian's primary attending physician, and as her father during a childhood flashback.

Mark Light Orr plays Dr. Jason Posner, Vivian's former student and a research Fellow under Kelekian. Diane Egan plays nurse Susie Monahan with gentle compassion and a remarkable simplistic nature.

Pat Haskell is Dr. Ashford, Vivian's mentor and former professor, both in flashback and in a hospital scene. Jennifer Wills, Rodney Creech and Chris Soucy alternate between college students in a past classroom scene and hospital attendants in the present...

"W;t" is not a play for the squeamish or for the slow witted -- it's very hard to keep up with Vivian. It is not a typical, melodramatic sob story about death. It is an affirmation of the indomitable human spirit, with accompanying laughter and tears. It is a unique work, quite unlike any other drama. It demands that you both think and feel to fully appreciate it...

About SCRC's 2000 Production of Talley's Folly...

The Island Packet, Friday, December 8, 2000, by Louise Causey-Lewis

'Folly" a fine blend of humor, romance

The South Carolina Repertory Company continues to bring the best of small, quality theater to the Hilton Head Island area. Landford Wilson's "Talley's Folly" has earned prestigious awards while becoming firmly ensconced in the repertory...

Shina and Robinson are a remarkable dramatic duo, displaying sensitive, sympathetic pace and timing. These roles might have been written just for their talents...

"Talley's Folly" should not be missed. Not only is it a theatrical masterpiece of the 20th century (1980 Pulitzer Prize), but it is also masterfully presented.

The Island Packet, Friday, November 24, 2000, by Erin Becker

A love story for grown-ups

Director Tom Evans returns to Hilton Head Island for the South Carolina Repertory Company's production of "Talley's Folly."

"You can expect to laugh and you can expect to have your heart warmed," Evans said of the play. "You can expect to have a good time." ...

Wilson's play won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize and a New York Drama Critics Circle Award...

About SCRC's 2000 Production of Love Letters...

The Island Packet, Thursday, October 6, 2000, by Louise Causey-Lewis

'Love Letters' opens S.C. Repertory season

"Love Letters," A.R. Gurney's petite dramatic masterpiece, opens the South Carolina Repertory Company's fall season.

Directed by the masterful hand of John Jakes, Pat Haskell and Douglas Milsom play the star-crossed lovers, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Ladd. Through the fairly simple process of reading notes and letters, Gurney takes his audience into and through the lives of his two characters, from kindergarten to age 55...

Haskell gives an astonishing portrayal of Melissa Gardner. In the first half of the play, her face has a youthful radiance that should be bottled.

As the years advance, so does her countenance, reflecting the fatigue and world-weary attitude of her character. Haskell knows her lines well, delivering them with precise definition and delicate inflection...

Regrettably, "Love Letters" has only a short run. It can be seen tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. and at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Performances are at the theater at 136 Beach City Road. For reservations and ticket information, call 681-5194.

About SCRC's 1999 Production of Grace and Glorie...

The Island Packet, Saturday, May 22, 1999, by Louise Causey-Lewis

Company Produces Amazing Grace and Glorie

The South Carolina Repertory Company continues to fulfill its ambition of bringing honest theatrical experience to the Low Country... the current presentation is a polished, professional show featuring two talented accesses under the direction of Clemson University's Chip Egan...

Ms. Causey Lewis' review continues on to praise every aspect of the show including the acting, set design, costuming and music.

About SCRC's 1999 Production of The Good Doctor...

The Island Packet, by Louise Causey-Lewis

The Good Doctor provides high entertainment

The South Carolina Repertory Company keeps turning out winning productions. Fresh on the heels of the successful Gin Game is Neil Simon's The Good Doctor, adapted from Anton Chekhov's short stories. From beginning to end, the series of humorous vignettes is mesmerizing, displaying polish and professional expertise seldom encountered outside major metropolitan areas... The five actors in the cast are well matched and balanced... Director Tom Evans has assembled a tightly balanced ensemble of exceptional talent. The simple versatile modular set by Robert Fletcher lends itself to an endless variety of situations. Peter Lind's musical background underscored the action without detracting from it. And powerful acting stands firmly on its own with no need for a display of distracting special effects...

This year's theatre season should prove equally entertaining. Make reservations for a SCRC play and see what everyone is talking about on Hilton Head Island or visit the The Island Packet to read full reviews.