Book-It Repertory Theatre finishes off their 20th anniversary season by revisiting one of their earlier works, "The Cider House Rules, Part One: Here in St. Clouds" based on the novel by John Irving. And while only half of the story is represented here, the show is a fully realized and wondrous piece of theater.
For those unfamiliar with the Book-It style of theater, take a piece of literature and have it simply staged for you by a group of actors. But unlike a simple theatrical adaptation of a book, the Book-It style is more like you're being read to in a very theatrical way complete with all of the "he said" and "she thought"s that literature contains. So think of it as a very expressive group bedtime story.
And our story for tonight is the first half of John Irving's classic novel, "The Cider House Rules" where we are led through the lives of Homer Wells, a perpetual orphan and his mentor/father figure Dr. Wilbur Larch, the doctor at the St. Cloud orphanage and hospital who sometimes delivers the babies of un wed mothers and sometimes "delivers the mothers" by performing abortions on the unwanted fetuses. As we are glimpsed into the formative past of Dr. Larch, we see how it is affecting his rearing of the impressionable Homer as he grows from inquisitive child into sensitive adult who eventually learns the skills of obstetrics from Dr. Larch. But when Homer begins to question his own moral issues with aborting the unwanted, a rift begins to form between this pseudo father and son. And that's just the first three hours of this production that spans Part One of the novel. But not to worry, the time flies by as you're completely engrossed and engaged in the show.
The show, adapted by Peter Parnell and directed by Jane Jones (based on the original direction from 1995 by Jones and co-director Tom Hulce) is one of the tightest and well paced pieces of theater I've seen in awhile. Not a moment is spared or story time wasted for the sake of scene transitions or staging patterns here. It was like watching a finely tuned ballet with every element and every actor in sync with every other on stage. And complete with some of Seattle's best performers. Peter Crook is astounding as the well meaning but flawed Dr. Larch. He has such incredible presence that every time he utters a line you feel like you're being told something extremely important. You must listen. Connor Toms is superb as the adorable Homer Wells. His transformation from wide eyed innocent to thoughtful yet sheltered and naïve adult is a performance not to be missed. Add into that some outstanding performances in multiple roles from the rest of the ensemble and the show is winner. Some amazing turns like Laura Kenny whose comedic chops are only rivaled by her quiet deeply felt moments. And I must mention Terri Weagant's incredible portrayal of Melony, a young girl of Homer's age at the orphanage. Melony is a young woman who battles with every emotion all fighting to emerge at the same time. And Weagant portrayed her with depth and verve and was a force of nature every time she entered stage.
Complete with a wonderfully simple and effective lighting design by Andrew D. Smith and a brilliant underscoring by Dan Wheetman with music direction by Edd Key, the show manages to show what can be done when a group of professionals simply want to tell a story. There are no falling chandeliers, and no light shows trying to convey anything, just a simple set and people who know what they want to say. Really there is only one thing wrong with this production of "The Cider House Rules, Part One". It's that it made the audience yearn for Part Two. But we'll have to wait until September for that.
"The Cider House Rules, Part One: Here in St. Clouds" from Book-It Repertory Theatre performs at the Center House Theatre in the Seattle Center through July 11th. For tickets or information contact the Book-It box office at 206-216-0833 or visit them online at www.book-it.org.
Photo Credit: Adam Smith
