University of Virginia Library

Va. Players Review

"U.S.A.": A Large Waste Of Talent

By Paul Chaplain
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

The Virginia Players' second
major production, "USA," is a
disappointment. The play's
problem rests largely with the
adaptation of John Dos Passos'
trilogy by Dos Passos and Paul
Shyre. The play is unmercifully
tedious and burdensome. In two
hours, the authors have attempted
to cover materials treated in three
novels, presenting us with a crop of
seemingly unrelated episodes
instead of a desired sweeping
panorama of America's first thirty
years in the twentieth century. It's
nice to know about Isadora
Duncan, the Wright Brothers, and
Rudolph Valentino, and a novelist
can have such diversions from his
main story to give us a feeling of
the times. A playwright can get
away with such sidetracking, but it
takes sturdier hands than those of
Dos Passos and Shyre.

J. Ward Morehouse

The story covers the rise of J.
Ward Morehouse from an
unpromising composer to his death
as a successful public relations man.
This is fine, but who or what is
J.W. Morehouse suppose to be? If
he's a symbol of an emerging
American spirit or a corrupt
Horatio Alger figure, it was lost on
me. The authors have great
fondness for the Duncans, Wrights,
and Valentinos, but treat the major
characters with little sympathy,
which borders on apathy. Perhaps if
I had a better knowledge of Dos
Passos I could see the purpose of
this play. Of course, in the end, the
play must be accepted on its own
merits, and "USA" lacks the
strength to stand up by itself.

'Readers' Theatre'

The play lends itself to the
"readers' theatre" approach
provided by director Eric
Singerman. Such theatre is not the
most entertaining, and can be
boring with actors and audience
simply sitting opposite each other
Mr. Singerman wisely moves his
cast around and is especially
successful in his creation of two
dance numbers. The final series of
scenes in act one was also handled
quite well, and was the only time
the play seemed ready to take off
and get someplace.

Cast Uneven

The cast is slightly uneven, the
most difficulties arising when
actors make the transition from
narrative to dialogue passages.
Often there is no change in pitch or
diction to distinguish between the
two, and the characters are flat and
dimensionless. Wes Simpers and
Carol Hurlburt however are able to
spark life into their roles, and
occasionally James Glascock does
also.

Multi-character plays have
another problem in that the actors
must create several different
characters. While I enjoyed Gerald
Palmer's performance, I could see
little to distinguish his teenager
from the army colonel or
seventy-one year old Mr. Bingham.
On a minor point, I can not accept
the heavy southern accent of the
Washingtonian. Although it
separates this character from the
others Mr. Palmer plays, it is not
accurate.

Polarities

Additional members of the cast
include Leslie Greathead and Renne
Snow, who are two polarities. Miss
Greathead tends to deliver her lines
with "gee-whiz" emotions. Miss
Snow's reading is the opposite,
barren of any emotion. I think that
the ladies and Mr. Palmer have
talent, but "USA" is not the best
vehicle for exhibiting them.

Boyd Ostorff's set is functional
and serves as a nice background for
one hundred and fifty slides, which
I'm sure resulted in at least as many
lighting cues. It is no small
accomplishment to have so many
changes going smoothly and
functioning properly. The
multi-media effect enhances the
production, especially the lighting
tableau concluding act one.
Throughout the play, the lights and
slides give an element of movement
to a play that sits still and needs
these additional thrusts.

From a technical viewpoint, the
production is excellent, and in
places the acting is very good. What
I want to know is, why this
particular play? The meaning of the
play is obscure, and it's mainly the
authors' fault. Stronger
characterizations and a faster
pacing during some of the
narratives would improve the
production, but for what? Is this
play presented as an exercise in
staging, or is it presented as
entertainment? In all sincerity, I
feel the Players wasted a lot of
talent on "USA," and risked
alienating their audience with a dull
and boring play.

(John Dos Passos' "U.S.A." will
be playing in the Minor Hall Little
Theater through November 21. The
curtain rises at 8:30 each night.
Tickets for Thursday night are
$1.50, while the Friday and Saturday
night performances are $2.00.
Tickets may be purchased at Minor
Hall after 2:00 each afternoon, or
reservations may be made by calling
924-3051.)

The Cast Of "U.S.A."