Reviewed by James Karas
Heroes of the
Fourth Turning by Will Arbery is an extraordinary
play that has several unique features. It is set in a small, private
fundamentalist college in Wyoming. There are five characters, four of whom are
connected with the college, three being former students and one being their
professor who has just been appointed president of the institution. All are conservative, fundamentalist
Catholics. The fifth character is Emily, the daughter of the professor.
Arbery specifies
that the college is in a town of 7,000, that it does not accept federal funding
and that the action takes place on August 19, 2017, two days before the solar
eclipse and one week after the Chancellorsville riot in Virginia.
The characters are
Justin (Mac Fyfe), Teresa (Ruth Goodwin) and Kevin (Cameron Laurie). Gina (Maria
Ricossa) was their former professor and her students are attending a party to
celebrate the appointment. Emily (Hallie Seline) is Gina’s daughter who did not
attend the same college.
They may all be fundamentalist
conservative Catholics but there are differences among them that make up the riveting drama of the play. Teresa
is a fiery fundamentalist who believes that people who try to help a woman get an abortion under any circumstances are murderers.
In fact, they are Nazis perpetrating another Holocaust. The women who get an
abortion for any reason are murderers. No exceptions. And parts of the bodies
of aborted fetuses are sold, according to Teresa and it has been proven.
The title of the
play refers to historical cycles in civilization that will culminate in war. In
fact, we are at war according to Teresa. The expostulation of the meaning of
the title is long and complicated but, in the end, it struck me as bovine feces.
Kevin is an
oddball or a loose cannon or worse. He wants to have a girlfriend or become a
priest. He drinks too much and vomits over himself and spends much of his time
watching television or worse. He snitched on Teresa and Justin when he found
out that they had sex. That’s one aspect of his miserable character but even
more important for him is that Gina showed clemency towards them. And why do we
worship Mary? Who the heck was she? And the Eucharist? We eat the blood and
flesh of Christ? And he imagines blowing everything up. That is the colourful
and despicable Kevin.
Emily has serious
but unspecified health problems. She sees good in people as do her parents. She
defends her friend that advises women about abortion and holds views that are anathema
to Teresa. No one dares to move far from their fundamental views but Emily does
display streaks of decency.
Justin, at whose
house the reunion is held at times appears like a dishrag. He kills a deer in
the opening scene and is ready to gut it but he does not. He carries a gun in
the later part of the play and he launches into political analysis of the state
of conservatism in the U.S.
The reunion, as I said, is held to celebrate the appointment of Gina as president of the college and she is a central character in the play although she appears late because she was drinking. She appears more moderate than Teresa but it is only a matter of degree. Where Teresa considers Donald Trump the saviour of the country, a strong man in the time of war, Gina thinks he is just a symptom. Gina hates Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and even Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was a dictator. George Bush Sr. gets a pass. Where Teresa admires Steve Bannon, Gina finds him a charlatan.
I have spent a lot
of time describing the views of the characters because I think the play is very
much about the fundamentalism of Catholics in a certain part of America. The
play is a brilliant exposition of the fundamentalist views of its characters
but at times it sinks in verbosity in its attempt to be comprehensive.
I do not hesitate
to praise the players for superb work. Rueth Goodwin, beautiful, poised,
relentless, gives a compelling performance. Maria Ricossa as Gina is
well-groomed, patrician and self-assured and she may be able to continue running
the college with its fundamentalist positions and perhaps a touch of humanity.
When she found out that Justin and Teresa had sex, she did not automatically
expel them. But when she wants to appoint Kevin as dean of admissions, we start
to wonder at her judgment.
Hallie Seline as
Emily must tackle a role of a pathetic you woman who is quite ill but at the
same time, she holds her own in defending her view that even people who may
assist women to get an abortion can be decent. She has to stand up to the
domineering and arrogant Teresa and does a great job.
Cameron Laurie as
the unhinged Kevin has a tough role. He has some knowledge but cannot figure
out the basic tenet of fundamentalism: belief. At one point he is asked if he is
he is even a Catholic. He vomits, collapses and is treated with contempt by Teresa
but Laurie’s performance is admirable.
Mac Fyfe as the
deer-killing, gun-toting host is almost a straight man to the others but he
does get his chance to do politics and he performs superbly.
The tiny Studio
Theatre does not allow much room for sets. Wes Babcock, the Set and Props
Designer provides a view of a barn door for the deer carcass to be hung. A few
chairs and a view of a small bar behind the glass is all that we need.
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Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arbery in a co-production by the Howland Company and Crow’s Theatre continues until October 29, 2023, in the Studio Theatre of Streetcar/Crowsnest Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. http://crowstheatre.com/
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