Back in 1994 the literary world was swept up in a EF3 tornado of a dispute via a blistering letter from English poet and playwright Stephen Spender to The New York Times in which he very publicly accused American novelist David Leavitt of plagiarism. He claimed that Leavitt copied the “literary structure, character development, dialogue and plot” in his 1993 novel, While England Sleeps.” The trigger was that Leavitt used events from Spender’s life without Spender’s approval. The feud spawned an ongoing flurry of letters from the public that lasted about six months and inspired playwright Donald Marguiles to pen Collected Stories.
Bringing this1997 Pulitzer Prize finalist to the Quad Cities is Richmond Hill Players in Geneseo. The show got a bit of a bumpy start in that both the original director and the original actor cast as Lisa had to bow out of the show. Stepping in to take up the reins are Mike Skiles as director and Dana Skiles as Lisa. While I have a deep respect for the original director, Skiles has delivered a worldly and nuanced production.
Ruth Steiner is a teacher and respected short story writer. Her student and protégée is Lisa Morrison. Over the course of six years, Lisa journeys from insecure student to successful writer. After publishing a well-received collection of short stories, Lisa writes a novel based on Ruth's affair with the poet Delmore Schwartz. The women deal with the moral dilemma of whether a person's life events are suitable for another to use in their own creative process. While the characters of Ruth and Lisa are completely fictional, Schwartz was real-life poet and short story writer.
Quad Cities audiences are well-familiar with Dana Skiles, indeed the Skiles family, who are icons at RHP. Dana has both performed, as well as crewed, a dizzying number of productions. I can honestly say this role is the apex of all the shows in which I’ve seen her perform. Her characterization is subtle and genuine and blossoms as the story unfolds.
In the role of Ruth is someone whose name has appeared in hundreds of theatre programs at multiple venues throughout the Quad Cities. She’s a phenomenal director as well as a lighting and sound designer, but her last appearance on stage at RHP was all the way back in 1998. I have so admired her behind-the-scenes work – and her humility; I’m speaking of none other than the extraordinary, the exceptional, the outstanding Jennifer Kingry. She disappears into the character of Ruth as easily as slipping into a luxurious bubble bath. Her portrayal is so seamless that when a somewhat large flying insect was buzzing the set and landed, without missing a beat, after removing her shoes she casually walked over and wacked that bug to an early grave, and made it look like it was a part of the script. Because she and Skiles have worked together so often, they go together like peanut butter and jelly, birthday cake and ice cream, or macaroni and cheese.
However, on opening night both Skiles and Kingry were playing so genuinely that they let their projection slip in the first scene and I couldn’t hear the dialog. Happily, they improved in subsequent scenes, but I feel they could still turn their volume up just a bit.
So, treat yourself to some really excellent theatre by taking in this amazing show.
Collected Stories continues at Richmond Hill Players Barn Theatre in Geneseo, Thursday through Saturday, October 8 through 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 11 at 3:00 p.m.
I’m Chris Hicks…break a leg.