Snakes have been let loose in the American Conservatory Theatre, deviously dripping their poison through the lies and deceit of Lillian Hellman's deliciously-evil tale of family fortune in The Little Foxes. Under the direction of Laird Williamson, the skillful cast creates a terrifically threatening story of greed, tightening their grip with each crafty moment, to the audience's morbid delight.
The juice starts flowing the minute we meet the Hubbards – a trio of wealthy Southern siblings – who are eager to invest in a cotton mill on their land, which will provide lucrative financial success for the family.
The kingpin of the family-business is Ben, flanked by his sinewy brother, Oscar – each biting at the smell of money on their doorstep.
But their sister, Regina, proves to be the most venomous of the three.
When Regina asks for 40% of the investment, the idea seems preposterous to her brothers, seeing as Regina's ailing husband, Horace, hasn't fronted the money for his third to begin with.
However, with some careful conniving by Oscar's slippery-tongued son, Leo, the needed bonds are stolen from Horace's safe-deposit box.
When Horace returns home and learns of the trickery, the darkest sides of the Hubbard siblings are unleashed.
Jacqueline Antaramian (
Nine Parts of Desire) is excellent as the reptilian Regina, dominating the stage like a predator hungry for something she cannot get enough of…more! Concerned only with herself and her money, Antaramian deftly slithers Regina around any duty she may have as a mother or wife.
Ben berates her for never smiling…I fear she may bare fangs! Her scenes opposite her husband, Horace (Nicholas Hormann) are particularly icy.
Having the opportunity to be away from the treachery of home, Horace finds it almost a 5-month "holiday" at the hospital in Baltimore.
Regina hardly lets her wheezing husband rest before pouncing on him for dough.
Hormann and Antaramian's clashing chemistry is superb.
Jack Willis (
Gypsy, Ravinia) as Ben was deliciously funny, quick to the draw in matching Regina's scramble.
Willis' "killing them with kindness" is devastatingly recognizable in today's world of smiling swindlers.
Robert Parsons (
The Black Rider, ACT & Sydney), as the other brother Oscar, is also pleasurably vicious.
Parsons' sneaky deliverance of Hellman's script is fiery, especially while manipulating Oscar's impressionable son, Leo (John Bull): "People ought to help other people."
But most phenomenal is Parsons' coiling around Oscar's precious trophy wife, Birdie (
Julia Gibson).
Gibson and Grace Heid (Regina's intuitive daughter, Alexandra) are the few pints of genuine decency among "them."
Gibson, who writhes in the condescending shadow of her husband, excels in the final act with a heart-breaking epiphany.
Birdie has been longing to laugh for years – happiest when remembering her past – but instead has been surviving in the Hubbard snake-pit while their meanness swallows her goodness whole.
Birdie warns Alexandra to get away before she follows suit.
Heid, a member of ACT's Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2007, is fantastic and powerful in the play's final scenes.
Robert Blackman (Scenery/Costume Designer) decorates the actors and stage marvelously.
The Giddens' home glows in large and lavish blood-red walls and an enormous central stair-case…breath-taking each time the curtain rises.
Antaramian stuns in a sparkling black evening dress and a glamorous night-gown while the brothers swarm in similarly-colored suits and hats.
Hellman's writing serpentines into our minds, biting into an uncomfortable yet amusing familiarity…both in ourselves and the slick incorporation of American business and politics.
Hellman wasn't too far-off from hitting the nail on the head in 1939, personifying the money-mongers of yester-year terribly identical to the self-devouring snakes of today.
ACT's
The Little Foxes provides a wonderful window into a wicked world.
The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman, directed by Laird Williamson, runs through Nov. 26 at the American Conservatory Theatre, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco.
2hrs 40mins with two intermissions.
For tickets ($12-80) and more information call 415-749-2228 or visit
www.act-sf.org.
Photos by Kevin Berne
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