"UNDER MILK WOOD" AT THE ROGUE THEATRE CAPTURES DYLAN THOMAS' FLAVOR AND CHARM

USING ALL THE WORDS AND ATMOSPHERE AT HAND, "UNDER MILK WOOD" AT THE ROGUE THEATRE CAPTURES DYLAN THOMAS' FLAVOR AND CHARM 

 

By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com

 

photo by Tim Fuller

The seaside Welsh village of Llareggub comes to life in all its oddly timeless quirks during this power play of an ensemble performance where 10 actors play six different characters apiece.

On a dark spring night, “starless and bible black,” the Welsh village of Llareggub slumbers unevenly beside the “sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack fishing boat bobbing sea.”

The vital rhythm of those first descriptive phrases takes us straight to the opening scene of Dylan Thomas' classic “Under Milk Wood” as a day that begins full of molasses momentum slowly forcing reluctant villagers to release from their clutches the last precious hopes of dissipating dreams – and to begin the Rogue Theatre's own endearing and sweetly disarming production.

A striking, somewhat abstract mural of fishing village silhouettes are spread across the back of the stage. Cast members wait in position at various levels in uneven light, each one stepping forward in turn to narrate more of the odd yet somehow timeless moments they seem to spend dividing their deep secret villager desires from the gossiping town's more practical needs.

Christopher Johnson directing a cast of six men and four women clad in black suits and dresses of differing designs, reminiscent of styles in the early1900s, has created a richly atmospheric look into these eclectic lives filling Llareggub.

Thomas has created in delicious detail his simple progression of a typical day, using rich descriptions that begin just before dawn and continue with a languorous stretch that reaches well after dark. All the villagers, from widows, wives and daughters to shopkeepers, layabouts and public officials, have their own moment center stage.

Thomas wrote “Under Milk Wood” in 1953 for the BBC as a radio play. The Rogue honors this tradition by brilliantly emphasizing the poet's words, rhythms and tone, rather than recreating separate dramatic scenes using props and developing characters. In the program notes Johnson compares the style of this presentation to “telling the story as if it took place around a campfire.”

Since Thomas provided no stage directions in his radio script, the Rogue's own version has come from finely studying each scene's many stage possibilities. There are plenty of angles as the fulsome quality of Thomas' own language creates in delicious detail the simple charm of each progression through the day – from widows, wives and daughters to shopkeepers, layabouts and public officials, all have their own moment center stage.

Consequently, each actor plays several roles in what is truly an ensemble effort, creating a richly layered tapestry that somehow feels familiar in its depictions of small victories against common odds. It feels like we've known them forever.

The unique genius of Dylan Thomas is in how colorful the bubbling and bouncing descriptions of each villager's colorful character comes pouring out in waves of rhythmic prose.

Over the decades of performances some of these personalities come to stand out a little more than others. There is the long retired seaman Captain Cat (Matt Walley) who's blind but knows everything about everyone; the sexually advanced Rosie Probert (Carley Elizabeth Preston); the willful widow Mrs. Ogmore-Pritcard (Cynthia Meier); who imagines sleeping every night with both of her deceased husbands; winsome Polly Garter (Sophie Gibson-Rush) and the devoted musician Organ Morgan (Christopher Pankratz).

Chelsea Bowdren, Hunter Hnat, Ryan Parker Knox, Joseph McGrath and Aaron Strand also play several more roles apiece.

“Under Milk Wood” continues through Jan. 28 with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., matinees Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m., in The Rogue Theatre of the Historic Y, 300 E. University Blvd.

Tickets are $47 general admission; Student Rush tickets (when available) $15 with student ID. For details and reservations, 520-551-2053, or visit theroguetheatre.org