Reviewed by James Karas
In the famous words of Leo Tolstoy, happy families
are all alike; every dysfunctional family is a great source of material for drama,
comedy, satire and soap operas. It gets an additional blast of energy if it can
reach to the even greater source of material: the Bible.
Playwright Paolo Santalucia has done all those things in his new play Prodigal, now playing at the Streetcar Crowsnest Theatre
in Toronto.
Santalucia’s version of the dysfunctional and Bible-associated group is
the wealthy Clark family. The patriarch is Rowan Clark (Rick Roberts), who is rich,
well-connected, has a mistress and is being considered for the position of
Governor-General of Canada.
His older son Henry (Cameron Laurie) is a model of
rectitude (in other words, a stupid bore) who is about to marry Sadie (Veronica
Hortiguela), a lovely and ditzy influencer (able to make money from stupid
people) and a daughter Violet (Hallie Seline) who has brains and hates her
mother. Rowan and his wife Marilyn (Nancy Palk) also have a younger son Edmund (Dan
Mousseau) and now you may turn to Luke 15; 11-24. Yes, Edmund is the Prodigal
Son with a few additions by Santalucia. Edmund is a drug and alcohol addict, and
can alliteratively be described as dissipated, debauched and dissolute. He has found temporary happiness with
Levi (Michael Ayres), a man he met in the flight back home and has engaged in enthusiastic erotic exercises with
him.
Rowan’s
mistress Simone (Shauna Thompson) is also his assistant and paramour and the
two express devotion to each other. Simone is beautiful, bright and knows what
she wants. Rowan gives every indication that he wants the same. His wife
Marilyn has the the emotional depth of a bowl of soup but she does know the
price of things and is deeply concerned about the fate of her flowers and her chestnut
tree. Just one more complication: Levi is Simone’s brother and he is an illegal
migrant with a criminal record who wants to stay in Canada. A homosexual binge
with Edmund is just the beginning for him.
Roberts’
Rowan Clark is a patrician gentleman who sets the aristocratic tone of a family
of high standing but reality throws in some serious roadblocks to maintaining that
status. A beautiful mistress may be fun but not something you can put on your
resumé. Worse, a prodigal wastrel of a son who has returned home with the
mistress’s brother is more like an earthquake than a roadblock. Robert’s gives a superb performance as the anxious
aristocrat trying to keep up appearances.
The
central character of course is Edmund and Mousseau has a tough role to handle. He
has to present an emotional and physical wreck whom we see in alcoholic and
drug induced stupor. Edmund does show some insight into his behaviour but the
role is highly demanding and Mousseau does outstanding work.
Shauna
Thompson plays the Preacher, a character who opens the play with a sermon about
forgiveness and redemption and makes the closing remarks providing nice bookends
for a play that does have some roots in the famous parable of the Prodigal Son.
Thompson can join any evangelical church if acting jobs dry up.
Veronica Hortiguela and Meghan Swaby. Photo: Dahlia Katz
The backdrop of the play is a fancy dinner at the Clark house where Pauline (Meghan Swaby), a chef and her husband Quentin (Jeff Yung) are serving the hoity-toity Clarks. The no nonsense and sharp-tongued Pauline and the henpecked Quentin provide much of the humour of the play.
Santalucia
manages to give some substance even to the secondary roles of Marilyn, Sadie
and Violet and Nancy Palk, Veronica
Hortiguela and Hallie Seline earn kudos for their performances.
The
set by Mark Hockin shows a part of the
kitchen of the Clark residence which consists of an island with cooking
facilities and is separated from the rest of the house by a white wall. It does
the job very well.
Santalucia
directs his own play and except for a ridiculous musical interlude, he does a
fine job.
Santalucia makes intelligent use of the material for drama, comedy and satire provided by a dysfunctional family. He has the moral and religious overtones of the Biblical parable but he does not overdo them, praise the Lord. But a story about internecine hatreds of the wealthy with the added flavour of discovered infidelity, political ambition and a son who is a total loser can often brush shoulders with soap opera dimensions. We still like the story, enjoy its development and await the resolution of the many plot strands. Unfortunately, there are far too many plot strands that are left dangling and the play seems ready for a TV serial.
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Prodigal by Paolo Santalucia in a production by The
Howland Company and Crow’s Theatre continues until March 12, 2023, at Streetcar
Crowsnest Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M4M 2T1. https://howlandcompanytheatre.com/ http://crowstheatre.com/
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