By Ladd Wendelin
Halloween always seems to bring out the best in the autumn season. The warmth of hearth and home, the rich colors of crisp fallen leaves, and mysterious strangers pounding at the door.
The Haymarket Theatre plays host to all of these in their production of George M. Cohan’s wonderfully over-the-top melodrama, The Tavern, which runs Oct. 29th-31st and Nov. 1st, 4th-6th. Directed by Bobby Bonaventura, a bizarre series of events at a quaint local tavern is instigated by the appearance of The Vagabond (Shawn McGill), a winsome libertine whose beguiling allure sends not only the tavern owner (John L. Marinovich), but the Governor (Stephen A. Gaines), his family, and a mysterious woman (Andrea Beckwith) on a collision course with fate one dark, stormy and very windy night.
When rapid-fire questions fly between the Vagabond and the other unfortunate lodgers, the stage sizzles with electricity, or as Willum (Will Bennet), the slackjawed hired hand so aptly summed up the evening’s affairs, “What the hell kind of a night is this, anyway?”
Bonaventura, who also crafted a stunning production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives in 2007 at the Haymarket Theatre, is a dynamite director. Having gathered a robust ensemble of university students and local actors, including standouts McGill and veteran actor Gaines, Bonaventura’s gift for polished staging and effortlessly shaping the action, building toward its rewarding conclusion is as captivating as the performances he elicits from his actors. His work is not to be missed.
Recognition should also be given to the costume and technical departments. Bob Hall’s set design invokes a certain timelessness, utilizing sturdy beams and ancient raw materials that you might find in the architecture of a New England tavern. Kat Cover’s excellent costumes draw from the same vivid color palette of the leaves that fly through the tavern door and litter the stage, ushered in by the “Live Storm Orchestra.” The all-around effect is brilliantly executed.
A hilariously madcap script penned by “Yankee Doodle Dandy” himself, George M. Cohan, Bonaventura’s assured direction, and a well-dressed stage await you in The Tavern - a must-see!
The Tavern, Oct. 29th-31st and Nov. 1st, 4th-6th. All performances at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be reserved by calling the box office at 402-477-2600 or visiting www.haymarkettheatre.org.
Bonaventura, who also crafted a stunning production of Noel Coward’s Private Lives in 2007 at the Haymarket Theatre, is a dynamite director. Having gathered a robust ensemble of university students and local actors, including standouts McGill and veteran actor Gaines, Bonaventura’s gift for polished staging and effortlessly shaping the action, building toward its rewarding conclusion is as captivating as the performances he elicits from his actors. His work is not to be missed.
Recognition should also be given to the costume and technical departments. Bob Hall’s set design invokes a certain timelessness, utilizing sturdy beams and ancient raw materials that you might find in the architecture of a New England tavern. Kat Cover’s excellent costumes draw from the same vivid color palette of the leaves that fly through the tavern door and litter the stage, ushered in by the “Live Storm Orchestra.” The all-around effect is brilliantly executed.
A hilariously madcap script penned by “Yankee Doodle Dandy” himself, George M. Cohan, Bonaventura’s assured direction, and a well-dressed stage await you in The Tavern - a must-see!
The Tavern, Oct. 29th-31st and Nov. 1st, 4th-6th. All performances at 7:30 p.m. Tickets can be reserved by calling the box office at 402-477-2600 or visiting www.haymarkettheatre.org.
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