12th Play - The Pavilion by Craig Wright
Tracy Middendorf (Kari) and Michael Laurence (Peter) in Westport Country Playhouse’s 2008 production. Photo by R. Termine
I had never heard of this play, but I have heard of Craig Wright. He wrote Recent Tragic Events and Grace (both produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre), Mistakes Were Made (produced by Red Orchid Theatre), and Orange Flower Water (produced by Steppenwolf). He’s also written for “Six Feet Under”, “Lost” and “Twilight”. An interesing resume …
Summary: “Hailed by critics as an "an Our Town for our time," this play is by turns poetic and comic, romantic and philosophical. Peter returns to his twenty-year high-school reunion with dreams of winning back Kari, the girl he left behind after an unexpected pregnancy ended their relationship. Standing in Peter's way is Kari's bitter-as-ever resentment, her husband and the fact that Peter still hasn't grown up. As the night progresses, both Peter and Kari are led, through their interactions with a host of characters all played by a virtuosic Narrator, to face the consequences of choices made long ago and start back into life with newfound strength and bittersweet resolve.” Dramatists Play Service
Laura’s thoughts in brief: Reading reviews of this show provided a fascinating duality. Critics do NOT agree about the show itself. Of course, the quality of direction and performance would affect that, but I was fascinated. To sum it up, many loved the show, and really felt like it was “an Our Town for our time,” as stated in the DPS summary. But reading reviews, especially from the NYC area, not everyone was impressed. The use of the Narrator who starts the play, “This is the way the universe begins,” as well as the looking back that is inevitable at a high school reunion, are the reasons for the Our Town comparisons. Otherwise I would argue that it’s not really an apt comparison. Some critics thought the narration was out of place and overly mystical. It certainly didn’t set me up for the most interesting part of the play, which was the RELATIONSHIPS between the characters. But it does set up the fact that Craig Wright clearly intends this play to be a metaphor. A little heavy handed, maybe? The Narrator also plays ALL of the other characters outside of the two main characters. The success or failure of this all comes down to the actor cast in this role. It sounds like some actors playing this stole the show with their comic timing, and others found that this quirky but random stipulation of the play only served to confuse the audience. I, personally, enjoyed the metaphorical aspect of the play, although I did think the opening narration went on WAY too long, and was not half as interesting as the characters themselves. That being said, the director in me was challenged to see what sort of staging could be done to bring that monologue to life. Some choreograpy maybe? Improvised creatures crawling from primordial slime? Maybe, maybe not, but it could be fun to play with! I thought the play was an interesting read, and it would be a nice watch with really good actors. But “nice” in the theatre isn’t always what we’re going for … At least not here in Chicago (although the Chicago reviews of the Artistic Home production from 2022 seemed to all be pretty good - were people just happy to have ANY plays after the pandemic?). Without giving spoilers, I did appreciate that Wright avoided an easy happy ending, although the saddest part of the show for me was that the town was going to burn down the historical pavilion right after the reunion. I wouldn’t jump to do or see this production in Chicago, although audiences expecting less gritty fare would likely really enjoy the show. Perhaps there’s a fun way to darken it and make it more consequential … something to ponder. If you see me directing it one day, beware! ;)
READ MORE! Here’s what others had to say about productions:
https://variety.com/2001/legit/reviews/the-pavilion-2-1200553449/
https://www.theatermania.com/news/the-pavilion_6727/
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/25/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/25playct.html
http://www.nytheaterscene.com/RevCThePavilion.html
https://www.theaterscene.net/plays/the-pavilion/admin/
https://chicagoreader.com/performing-arts/theater/theater-review/reunion-and-regret/