Review: THE CURIOUS SAVAGE Almost Kills It

This past weekend, the Clay High School Fine Arts Department opened and closed the show The Curious Savage with two different casts of students and two different interpretations by two different directors. I saw the first cast which was comprised of two seniors, five juniors, and four freshman and directed by Kathryn Hein. To give some context, The Curious Savage was originally written by playwright John Patrick and is a comedy about an elderly woman named Ethel P. Savage who is sent to a sanatorium by her step-children after her husband dies and leaves her his 10 million dollar fortune. Mrs. Savage is sent there because she has decided to spend the fortune rather than let her wayward children inherit it (she sets up a memorial fund that pays for people to pursue their dreams). This decision is coupled with her newly acquired eccentric behavior; she carries around a large teddy bear everywhere she goes. Their hope is that by committing her, they can take control of her assets and therefore have the fortune for themselves - the only problem is that she has hidden the money.

Clay is the Fine Arts school for the South Bend Community School Corporation magnet program, which is allowed to perform four theatrical productions a year through magnet grants. My first experience with Clay's Fine Arts Department was with the musical Working that I saw and reviewed this past December. It was absolutely phenomenal and done quite well. While I acknowledge that these high school students are not professionals and not every show is going to be a major success, the quality of The Curious Savage was a little disappointing considering its juxtaposition with my first impression of the program in December. The most diplomatic way of describing this performance is that it was unrehearsed; it felt more like I was watching a dress rehearsal rather than a polished opening-weekend. The original play by John Patrick is eminent; it has a wonderful sense of humor about very serious topics where necessary and was a good choice to put on at a high school. The problem with the show was a lack of finesse on the part of the student actors to give justice to the minutia of the production, which amalgamated to larger problems. There was cluttered blocking, dropped lines followed by long silences, scrambling over each other's lines, failure to project or speak clearly, speaking with backs turned to audiences which lead to being barely audible, slow pacing and timing, and actors with wandering eyes that looked everywhere but their stage partners. However, the most awkward moment was when an actor had a late entrance and everyone on stage waited for her to enter by staring at the door she was supposed to come through rather than saving face by keeping the scene going. Another actress went so far as to have a whispered conversation on stage with an off stage crew member about the current crisis. Most of these things in isolation would not be a big deal, however, when added altogether, it made for a rather awkward ebb and flow of the show. These technical failures shouldn't be present at that stage of a production and certainly not at a magnet fine arts program.

Despite the aforementioned faults, there were some exceptional actors and moments in the show that need to be highlighted. The set, designed by Meghan Beard, was breathtaking. I could not be more impressed with the quality and detail found in the full-fledged set that seemed to have been built by professionals (but was actually constructed by students and teachers!). The set contained a fire place, beautiful furniture, massive windows, ornate decorations, towering book cases, and much more (check out the set photo within this article).

Carly Colvin, who played Mrs. Paddy, a taciturn but surly character, delivered her lines flawlessly with a robust voice that contrasted with her young appearance. She was hysterical in her portrayal as one of the more difficult sanatorium residents and one of the more delightful characters to watch.

Ethel P. Savage was played by Kyrrah White, and while guilty of some of the technical acting blunders mentioned above, she undeniably understood and accurately portrayed her character's complexity. White went above and beyond to give her character's minute details extra attention all the way from her facial expressions to her hand movements. She also had superb chemistry when performing with each of her cast mates (much like Mrs. Savage herself, who is everyone's friend except for her stepchildren's).

However, the real superstar of the show was Isabelle Gilchrist, who played Fairy May. While also not perfect in her technical portrayal of her character, Gilchrist was the most astute in her delivery of her character. Gilchrist was also the most enthusiastic actor on stage, and not just because her character itself was enthusiastic, but because Gilchrist embodied the charisma of her character's persona. Gilchrist never faltered in her portrayal of her character and was a powerful onstage presence, even when she wasn't the focus of the scene.

The best scenic performances, and therefore the best scene in the show, came when the Savage siblings returned to the sanatorium after a wild-goose chase they had been sent on by Ethel to find the hidden money. The siblings are Lilly Belle Savage played by Miesha Crawford, Senator Titus Savage played by Matthew Simmons, and Judge Samuel Savage played by James Johnson. Between the three siblings and Mrs. Savage (Kyrrah White), the scene was the most dynamic and revealed the intricate layers to the characters and their relationships.

While there were a lot of things that needed work, there were still some very enjoyable performances and therefore some very redeemable moments. Because of those moments and the very successful musical Working I saw in the past, I believe that the magnet fine arts program at Clay is still a commendable one and I recommend that everyone go see their future productions.

All the proceeds from the show went towards the Relay For Life team, Colonials Against Cancer. It is their fourth year together and were able to raise $600. They will also continue to raise money throughout the rest of the school year.

Photo Credit: Clay High School

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