By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
From left. Martine (Bryn Booth), Babette (Carley Elizabeth
Preston) and Philippa (Kate Scally) discuss village life in Berlevaag.
It
doesn't matter if you have already seen the 1987 Oscar-winning Danish film
“Babette's Feast,” directed by Gabriel Axel. You must see The Rogue Theatre's
stage version now running through Jan. 29, directed by Joseph McGrath using the
theater adaptation written by Rose Courtney based on the original short story
of Isak Dinesen.
If you
haven't seen the film version then you really must embrace what The Rogue has
prepared without ever turning on a stove to stir up so much as a bowl of turtle
soup.
Quite
remarkable is how this story – when it is told by actual people on a stage setting
mostly made of bare wood, enhanced by the concert grand piano accompaniment of
Russell Ronnebaum – grows deeper, more endearing and intimate as we watch how a
true artistic spirit comes to stand for truth facing down the artificial values
of religious rigidity that insists on making its own demands.
This
feast is no longer about the food. Disarmingly simple in the telling, McGrath
meticulously builds an atmosphere of tenderness laced with innocence.
Running
approximately 90 minutes without intermission, “Babette's Feast” spans several
decades, stretching across northern Europe from revolution-racked Paris in the
later 1800s to the timeless isolation of Berlevaag, a tiny puritan settlement
on a forgotten Norwegian fjord where one's faith is expressed daily by a proud
ability to absorb every hardship and inconvenience imaginable.
The
cast of nine is divided into two parts. Carley Elizabeth Preston plays Babette.
Kate Scally and Bryn Booth are the lovely spinster sisters Philippa and Martine
respectively.
Six
others take on the roles of various villagers and visitors to this rigid
community. They are Shannon Elias, Jim Fry, David Greenwood, Hunter Hnat,
Cynthia Meier and Dennis Tamblyn.
While
the play itself is a collection of short scenes stitched together with
narration to create a sort of photo album tale, two scenes in particular are
quite touching.
Tamblyn,
a classically trained singer, plays the flamboyant French opera star Achille
Papin who seeks some rest in Berlevaag's isolation. He is smitten by Philippa's
naturally soaring voice (Scally is also classically trained) and immediately
offers to give her singing lessons.
Papin
also sees in Philippa the youth he no longer possesses and, during these
lessons, becomes drawn into wanting to posses her.
Another
early visitor is Lt. Loewenheilm (Hnat) even more captivated by the beauty of
Martine. But his career as a military officer and Martine's life in Berlevaag
are hopelessly incompatible. He returns to his own ambitions and the next time
we see the lieutenant back in the village he has become Gen. Loewenheilm (now
played by Greenwood).
The
General talks proudly of his military achievements and his loving wife, his
travels and such, but when he sees Martine once again he is that smitten
lieutenant, his heart melting.
“Babette's
Feast” plays Thursdays through Sundays with performances at 7:30 pm
Thursday-Saturday plus 2 pm matinees Saturday-Sunday in The Rogue Theatre, 300
E. University Blvd. Off-street parking is available.
Tickets
are $42 general admission, $15 students. Ticket packages are available. For
details and reservations, 520-551-2053.
For
current COVID protocols, visit theroguetheatre.org Masks are encouraged except
when drinking or eating.
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