BWW Reviews: Language and Love Take Over The Gamm in Sparkling THE REAL THING

Writers spend their entire careers, perhaps their entire lives, trying to find the right words. The perfect words. Those which will elevate their writing from something ordinary and dull to a lofty place among the great works of literary art. Some concepts, though, can't be so easily put into words. Cannot be defined or explained in any way that truly does them justice. Love is one of those things and the attempt to put it into words is at the center of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, currently running at the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre.

Stoppard, widely regarded as one of our greatest living playwrights, is known for the dense and intellectual nature of his plays. They are known, in short, for being wordy. The Real Thing is no different, as it deals with the struggles of a writer, Henry, attempting to make sense out of the warring sides within himself and his relationships. It's a conflict of passion versus intellect. Head versus heart. And as he tries to make sense of it all, he finds that although he says he "doesn't know how to write love," the feelings and emotions may be far more important than the words he uses to express them.

There are many parallels between Henry and the writer who created him. The play is considerEd Stoppard's most autobiographical, as it's centered on a writer known for his use of language and words. It's also considered by some to be his most heartfelt and emotional play, dealing with the heart rather than the head more than any of his other works. The result is a play that is often hilarious, frequently gut wrenching and, in the end, heartwarming and hopeful.

Still, it's a very cerebral play, thick with challenging language, intelligent humor and scholarly discourse. For some audience members, it will be too cerebral and perhaps too hard to keep up with what's going on or being said. It does teeter on the edge of having lots of unnecessary talking, speaking just for the sake of hearing one's own voice, without much purpose other than making the same point over again, with bigger, smarter words. Stoppard pulls the play back from that edge by including plenty of wit, comedy, true feeling and universal human emotion.

This production also happens to include a wonderful cast that handles the language, the humor and the depth of feeling with perfection, led by Tony Estrella as Henry. Estrella has crafted a performance filled with both manic energy and believable, profound passions. His Henry, while at times pretentious and condescending, is also totally lovable and a character the audience will sympathize with and root for.

Jeanine Kane is his equal as Annie, the woman with whom Henry is having an affair as the play opens. Later, they are married and have their own struggles as they fight for each other and the love they know exists between them. The very first moment that Kane and Estrella are on stage alone together, their chemistry and sexual tension is immediate and palpable. It remains electric throughout their performance together.

The rest of the supporting players are also excellent, especially Marianna Bassham as Charlotte, Henry's first wife. At times, Bassham exhibits simmering emotions underneath a cool icy façade, while at other times she strikes out with razor-sharp wit and perfect comic delivery. Betsy Rinaldi as Henry and Charlotte's daughter, Debbie, is also great in a too-brief role.

Director Fred Sulliivan, Jr. keep things moving, although at times perhaps a little too fast. Some of Stoppard's language, which demands the audience's full attention, gets lost when the actors, especially Tom Gleadow, are speaking too quickly. Words also get lost on a few occasions when actors are whispering or speaking very quietly, or even worse, when they are staged so they're facing upstage, with their back to the audience. This was especially unfortunate during one highly charged emotional scene when an actor's back was turned and almost no one could see her face.

Then again, the audience, like Henry, may come to realize that it really isn't in the words where the true meaning of love is found. While the play features lots of talking, it's in some of the quiet moments, when nobody is speaking at all, that the audience sees real connection and true emotion taking place. Just like in real life, it's in those silent moments, when no words are needed, that we know love is the real thing.

The Real Thing runs from March 14 through April 14 at The Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, RI. Tickets: $36 and $45 (depending on day/time); preview and press performances (March 14-18) just $26. Discounts for subscribers, groups of 10 or more,
seniors and students. Tickets at 401-723-4266 or gammtheatre.org.

Pictured: Jeanine Kane and Tony Estrella. Photo by Peter Goldberg

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