University of Virginia Library

Spark Of Fire

The honors in acting, however,
belong to James Carrington, whose
portrayal of the love struck "witch
boy" is the most memorable aspect
of the evening. With self-confident
determination in his voice and a
spark of uncontrollable fire in his
popping eyes, he evolves a beautiful
portrait of a man being consumed
by a forbidden love. Leaping
around the stage like a frog gone
mad, doing cartwheels and
handsprings and every other sort of
acrobatic activity, Mr. Carrington
actually seems to be something a
little more — or less — than human.

Ann Ault is overshadowed by
her leading man's virtuoso
performance, but she too excels, in
a more restrained, subtly depicted
characterization than that of Mr.
Carrington, which permits a perfect
balance between the two lovers.
The rest of the cast is uneven, with
some doing satisfactorily, others
not.

But aside from the unusually
polished acting of the two leads and
a few effective bits of staging, it
isn't much of an evening, and I'm
truly sorry, for this is the first time
the Albemarle Playhouse has
attempted something other than
conventional dinner theatre fare. I
feel obliged, however, to report
that some of those around me on
Saturday night appeared to be
enjoying themselves, probably the
same people who have helped make
"Love Story" such a financial
success.

As for me, I can't figure out
why the play was ever written,
much less produced. It's a contrived
tear-jerker told in a pedestrian
manner, and the only thing I can
see that it has to say is "once a
witch, always a witch." And with
relevant philosophy like that, who
needs Erich Segal?

—Ed.)