By Kimberly Harper
The Gamm opened its 32nd season with the Tom Stoppard classic “Arcadia,” a show that has been frequently requested by Gamm patrons over the years. And in this case, the people were right – Director Fred Sullivan Jr. serves up an intellectual, passionate masterpiece that’s packed with wit and intelligence, perfectly cast and impeccably acted from lights up to bows.
The show begins in a sun drenched sitting room in 19th century England, where 13 year old Thomasina Coverly (Grace Viveiros) is attempting to extract important information from her tutor Septimus Hodge (Jeff Church), namely, the definition of “carnal embrace.” It seems that Hodge has been rumored to be engaging in a lot of it, whatever “it” is, all over the estate grounds with a certain houseguest, and that interests Thomasina far more than the algebra in front of her. No wonder, either, since she’s a genius whose ideas on irregular geometry are decades of their time. She and Hodge fire back and forth with mathematical concepts that are a lot of fun to listen to, even if you do find your head swimming at times.
We jump forward to 1993, where the house is abuzz still, this time with Valentine (Jesse Hinson), a scholar, and his bright young thing little sister Chloe (Emily White), who has designs on the larger than life scholar Bernard Nightingale (Tony Estrella), who is visiting to find out if the famous Lord Byron was involved in a duel that may have killed the little known poet Ezra Chater (Brandon Whitehead). Chater’s relevant because he was visiting the Coverly estate at the start of the show, but you’re more likely to remember his wife, Lady Chater of the aforementioned carnal embrace in the gazebo. Nightingale is set up against feminist writer Hannah Jarvis (Jeanine Kane), whose book about writer Lady Caroline Lamb. It sold well but was panned by academics, in particular, Nightingale. Their meeting at the Coverly estate is far more acrimonious than affectionate.
There are lots of intellectual characters, but Stoppard tempers them with some real over the top personalities in both centuries. There’s Lady Croom (Deb Martin), the lady of the 19th century house who insists that her daughter be kept in ignorance (by the tutor no less), that the sheep in the meadow be artfully placed in just the right number, and that, if the gardener Richard Noakes (Tom Gleadow) is going to insist on putting a hermitage on her beloved grounds, that it at least come with a hermit. Advertise for one, she insists. And in 1993 we have the yelping, frenetic Nightingale, who seems a heartbeat away from either intellectual discovery or having an aneurism.
Throughout the show, we jump back and forth between time periods, with very little changing on the minimal set. The play runs two hours and 45 minutes, and the dialogue is dense. If you go, pay attention – this is not passive theater by any means. But you’ll be rewarded with some fantastic dry British humor, some of the best banter ever written for the stage, and enough intellect to make you wish you’d paid better attention in 11th grade math class. “Arcadia” is widely accepted as one of Stoppard’s best offerings and the Gamm more than does it justice. It’s cerebral, sexy, and will bend your mind in all the right places.
“Arcadia” runs through Oct. 16 at the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.gamtheatre.org or by calling 401-723-4266.
