By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
photo by Tim Fuller
Miss Havisham (Cynthia Meier)
confronts her haunted past in the shrouded figure of Christopher Pankratz.
Even though you've read Charles Dickens' “Great Expectations,” or
quickly scanned the Cliff's Notes version, you will be further enlightened by
The Rogue Theatre's presentation of the Jo Clifford adaptation of “Great
Expectations” to the stage.
Clifford is an internationally regarded playwright, translator,
poet and performer, formerly a Professor of Theatre at Queen Margaret
University in Edinburgh. But don't worry, her adaptation is never stodgy.
As directed by Christopher Johnson for The Rogue, we get an earthy
Dickens who never holds back on criticizing upscale London's hypocrisy in the
early 1800s.
The novel is often described as Pip's coming-of-age tale, but I've
always thought of it more as what happened when Pip as a boy suddenly decided he
wanted to become cool. Or in the vernacular of those times, to become “a
gentleman.”
As Act One begins, Pip the homeless child has been taken under the
wing of the village blacksmith, Mr. Joe. This is a lower class but reliable
life, only Pip wants more.
Suddenly, an anonymous benefactor appears and Pip has all the
money he needs to do most anything. Including court the formerly unobtainable
Estella, adopted daughter of the wealthy but perpetually sad Miss Havisham.
Decades earlier Miss Havisham was jilted at the altar and she has never taken
off her wedding dress since.
Pip quickly learns, even though he has money now, he has no idea
how to become a gentleman – or at least act like one. Especially after Estella
has shown no interest in “the newly wealthy” Pip whatsoever.
So we sit entranced as the Rogue cast carries on. “Great
Expectations” was a very thick book with lots of characters, we remember, so
the stage version also has a long list of actors, with several taking on double
roles, all wearing elaborate costumes.
Leading the pack is Hunter Hnat as Pip, who ages during the play
from a lad of seven to a dashing man in his early 20s. For Hnat this is a
career defining performance. Watching this evolution on stage is like watching
a flower blossom.
Bryn Booth is the emotional Estella, ranging from suppressed to
smoldering and then ablaze with anger. Her scenes with Pip become electrifying.
But it is Cynthia Meier in the role of Miss Havisham who deserves
to have her own spin-off show just like they do on TV. Meier captures the
hunted and haunted personality in so many shades of smothering defiance and
consuming revenge she becomes fascinating.
Joseph McGrath is excellent with a pair of widely divergent parts,
the elegant lawyer Jaggers and the runaway criminal Magwitch.
Gretchen Wirges thrives on raving intensity as Mrs. Joe, Pip's
older and infinitely more cruel sister, married to kindhearted, good ol' Joe
the blacksmith.
“Great Expectations” continues through Nov. 20 with performances
at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. matinees Saturdays and
Sundays, at The Rogue Theatre, 300 E. University Blvd.
Tickets are $42 general admission. Current COVID protocol is to
strongly suggest wearing a mask except when eating or drinking. For further
details, www.theroguetheatre.org or phone 520-551-2053.
