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Two more interesting choices could not be found.

Saturday May 05, 2001.     By Joseph Bowen

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Court Theatre
Tickets: (773) 753-4472
Through May 16

The Court Theatre has once again presented two plays in repertory as a closer to their season. Two more interesting choices could not be found. The Little Foxes, Lillian Hellman's 1939 drama of a battling Southern family in post-Civil War America, and La Bete, David Hirson's 1991 commentary on the theatre. In this case, as is becoming customary, the Court Theatre is presenting two excellent pieces of theatre.

The Little Foxes is the story of the Hubbards, a Southern family desperately desiring to acquire wealth. Ben and Oscar Hubbard (John Reeger and Craig Spidle, respectively) have convinced Mr. Marshall (Bradley Mott), a rich Chicago businessman, to invest in a cotton mill in their small Alabama town. In order to complete their share they are counting on receiving a tidy sum of money from their sister Regina's (Hollis Resnick) husband Horace (Thomas Joseph Carroll). Horace is suffering from a severe heart ailment and is in the hospital in Baltimore. Regina, ever the greedy opportunist, sends her daughter Alexandra (Laura Lamson) to bring her father home in hopes of convincing him to invest the money. These events serve as a catalyst for the fireworks to come, as the conflict in the family intensifies over the tragic events that follow.

The direction by Court's Artistic Director Charles Newell is perfect. His approach with this play is subtle, and as a result, the suspense is Hitchcockian. John Culbert's blood-red staircase (the play's only set piece) is both elegant and chilling. The performances are remarkable. Critics tend to compare all performances of Regina, the play's central character to the performance of Bette Davis in the 1941 movie. Hollis Resnick's performance as Regina needs no compass to compare her performance to. She is simply marvelous. Her Regina crackles with bitterness and sarcasm, a woman whose desire to be rich overshadows all else. John Reeger, as Ben, the older of the two Hubbard brothers, is a cunning businessman with a charming front and a venomous sting in his tail. By contrast, Craig Spidle's Oscar is an explosive man whose lack of control is his undoing. Barbara Robertson, as Oscar's long-suffering wife Birdie, gives a wonderfully three-dimensional performance. She is at once comfortable and shaky, angry and sad.

La Bete, by contrast, is a very funny, yet sad commentary on the theatre and the nature of art. With fundamentally the same cast, it is radically different in tone than The Little Foxes. Seemingly set in the present, past and future all at once, it is the story of Valere (Barbara Robertson), a buffoon of a performance artist, who descends upon an acting company in the court of Prince Conti (Paul Oakley Stovall). The acting company is led by Elomire (John Reeger), a playwright/actor/director lacking inspiration and fiercely true to his "art". The Prince has issued a writ that Elomire welcome Valere into his company. The problem is, however, Valere is a boor, a fact which becomes evident in his 45-minute Act I monologue.

Director Charles Newell brings us into the world of La Bete, an eighteenth-century yet modern day classic yet punk rock world. He has directed a very funny production of a difficult play. It would be so easy for La Bete (which in French means "the beast") to fall flat and end up being incredibly tedious. Barbara Robertson, as Valere, is an interesting choice for a role usually cast with a man. With other actresses this might have taken some adjustment, but Ms. Robertson completely owns the role. With a manic energy approaching epic proportions, she flies about the stage, spouting Valere's silly dogma. John Reeger's Elomire (an anagram for Moliere) is ever the tortured artist, high principled and haughty, who has no patience for Valere and his mannerisms. There is also excellent ensemble acting by the members of Elomire's company. The weak spot in this cast in Paul Oakley Stovall's Prince Conti. He never really achieves the regal authority he should have, and his performance ends up flat.

Both of these productions are fine examples of what a theatre company can do with the right talent and the right focus. The Court Theatre has been coming into it's own for quite some time now, and it's arrived in style.