Publisher: Elizabeth Hurd

Carpenter Square’s “The Birds” Misses Objective

Julia (Miranda LoPresti) reads the palm of Diane (Angie Duke) as Nat (Doug Monson) looks on. Photos courtesy of Carpenter Square

 “The Birds” is a frightening novelette written by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1962 in a collection entitled ‘The Apple Tree’. The story is about a farmer residing in Cornwall who finds his rural community under assault from birds and is thought to be a metaphor for the blitz bombing of Britain during World War II.  The story inspired Alfred Hitchcock to make his famous thriller movie in 1963, and Colin McPherson published his new play, “The Birds” in 2009.  While the original story is the inspiration for both movie and play, all three stories are vastly different, having only attacking birds in common.  In McPherson’s version, three people find themselves among the few survivors of an apocalyptic attack by avians and they are hiding in an empty house scavenging for food.  

The story is narrated by one of the participants, Diane, who is played by Angie Duke.  She has joined forces with a fellow survivor, Nat, played by Doug Monson, and they are soon joined by a rebellious teenager, Julia, played by Miranda LoPresti.  The three of them suspect that a farmhouse across the lake from the home they have appropriated is inhabited by a reclusive farmer, Tierney, played by Albert Bostick. 

Diane reads by the lantern while Nat sacks out. Photos courtesy of Carpenter Square

McPherson is an award winning playwright whose work is applauded by directors as he leaves much of the interpretation of his story up to the director, allowing for a more creative collaboration.  Carpenter Square’s production has Mark Fairchild as director, and while he is a promising young actor and director “The Birds” is probably not the best beginning for someone with his lack of experience.

 
 

The brilliantly witty Dorothy Parker quipped about a young and also inexperienced Katherine Hepburn: ‘Miss Hepburn runs the gamut of emotions from A to B’ referring to her performance in “The Lake.”  The cast of this production of “The Birds” do not make it to B.  While the entire cast does an impeccable job enunciating their words, the characters have little substance.  LoPresti has the demeanor of a typically obnoxious and rebellious teenager with ‘attitude’ but she delivers each and every line in one monotone without dimension and only occasional elevation in decibel.  Duke is an experienced actress who has an interesting and somewhat hesitant speech pattern that can be effective in many of the character roles, but it doesn’t seem to bear any relation to the character of Diane as written by McPherson.  Monson’s characterization of Nat is unformed, as if he’s a marionette and the puppeteer has not read the play.  There’s a brief respite from the droning dialogue with the entrance of Al Bostick as Tierney in the second act.  Bostick has a character and plays a part rather than repeating memorized words as like a shopping list. Unfortunately, his appearance is too brief to make a significant difference in overall performance quality.

Technically the show is quite nice and Fairchild does a good job in designing his set.  Rhonda Clark’s costuming is ideal.  The sound effects with the menacing murmur of the birds that rises to an overwhelming terrorizing crescendo only misses being frightening when the actors began to speak.  Jay C. Schardt’s lighting design is also effective in creating the mood of a shattered existence. 

Tierney (Albert Bostick) offers Diane (Angie Duke) canned peaches. Photo courtesy of Carpenter Square

Fairchild has the basics of directing–the show is blocked with intelligence.  Interpreting the roles the actors find so challenging is where they desperately need direction.  Apparently it is either not offered, or ignored.  A contributing factor to the unhappy production is the vile weather on the particular evening of this performance causing minimal attendance.  With such a sparse audience, actors do not receive the emanations that inspire performance.  Audiences are an essential component of theatre and audience reaction plays a significant role in the production, and in that area, on the night in question, the audience fails as much as the production.

“The Birds” is played at Carpenter Square Theatre through November 4, 2017.  Curtain is at 8:00 pm and tickets can be arranged on-line at www.carpentersquare.com or by calling the box office at 404-232-6500 during box office hours, Tuesday through Friday 1:00 to 6:00 pm or at the door.  Carpenter Square Theatre is located at 800 W. Main in downtown Oklahoma City, with lots of parking available.