Review: Go Ahead. Have GREAT EXPECTATIONS. Portland Center Stage Won't Disappoint.

I've never read Great Expectations . I might have seen the 1998 movie, but I have little recollection of it. So, when I walked into Portland Center Stage, I didn't really have any expectations at all. But if I had, I'm confident they all would have been fulfilled and surpassed by PCS's current production.

Here's what's so great about GREAT EXPECTATIONS.

The Script

GREAT EXPECTATIONS is an adaptation of Charles Dickens's novel. The story follows Pip over the course of many years, from his first encounter with escaped convict Abel Magwitch and his growing up at the hands of his sister and his sister's husband, the kind and loving Joe Gargery, to his meeting the once-thwarted, ever-bitter Miss Havisham and her ice queen protege Estella, to becoming a gentleman thanks to riches bestowed by an unknown benefactor. There's really too much plot to recount here -- it's a long book. Suffice it to say that Pip learns that expectations can be misleading.

The adaptation was done by Lucinda Stroud for Seattle's Book-In Repertory Theatre, whose mission is to "[transform] great literature into great theatre...to [inspire] audiences to read." Their method is to stay very close to the text, including preserving the descriptions as well as the dialogue. The result is that characters sometimes talk about themselves in the third person and describe what they're doing as they're doing it.

At the beginning, this was a little strange, and for about the first 10 minutes I wondered if it would get annoying. But, by minute 11, I was completely won over and wouldn't haven't wanted it any other way. The half-theatre, half-book style allowed me to experience what's great about Dickens's writing -- the descriptions that set the feel of a place or an action.

The Cast

For this adaptation, Stroud cut the cast of more than 25 characters down to a manageable number for nine actors, most of whom play multiple roles.

Of particular note is the divine Dana Green, who plays both the young Mrs. Joe and the aging, eccentric Miss Havisham. Ms. Green is one of those actresses who is such a chameleon that I never recognize her, even after I've read the cast list about 10 times. Her Miss Havisham, who was scorned in love 25 years ago and has lived as if time had frozen ever since, is ghostlike enough to be unsettling, and human enough to be compassion-inducing.

I also really loved John Hutton as both Magwitch and the lawyer Jaggers. As both, he walks a fine balance between the good and evil parts of human nature. Although I suppose Pip is actually the protagonist in the story, I really wanted Magwitch to win.

And Isaac Lamb is just good in everything, even when he's playing a horse.

The Set

I have lately been extremely impressed with the set design at Portland Center Stage, and this one, by Christopher Mumaw, is no exception. At first, it looks pretty bare -- nothing but a staircase, and then a catwalk leading to another staircase.

But the set changes as the play progresses. The clocks in Miss Havisham's house, which were all stopped at 20 minutes to nine (the moment Miss Havisham was left at the altar), are represented by a single humongous, cobwebby clock that is almost the size of the stage. And there were so many smaller details, like the chandelier that ascended and descended in the top left. The set seemed to reflect the fact that life is made up of moments both big and small.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS plays through February 14. I highly recommend checking it out. You can buy tickets here: http://www.pcs.org/

Photo credit: Patrick Weishampel/blankeye.tv

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