Full of greed, revenge and seduction: Local theater groups collaborate to bring Tennessee Williams to stage
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What started out as a workshop for a Penn State Altoona theater class turned into a full production of the gutsy and provocative “27 Wagons Full of Cotton” by playwright Tennessee Williams on the stage of the Church in the Middle of the Block in downtown Altoona this week.
It is the first formal collaboration between the PSA theater department and Things Unseen Theatre, although associate professor of theater arts Robin Reese directed at the theater’s Church venue earlier this year.
“27 Wagons” will be presented to the public at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Church near downtown Altoona. General admission is $10, while students and seniors get discounted to $5. Tickets are available at Thompson Pharmacy locations in Juniata and Hollidaysburg and at the box office 30 minutes prior to performances.
Penn State students can get a free preview tonight at 6 p.m. in the Edith Davis Eve Chapel on campus. Tickets are required and are available at the Misciagna Family Center box office a half-hour prior to curtain.
“I was doing the play at the college as a workshop with no real set or lighting,” Reese said. “And when I saw what was going on with the actors and how they were working so well, I approached” Things Unseen directors about staging the play at the Church. “They were happy to have us.”
Valerie Stratton, co-artistic director for Things Unseen, which is housed at the Church, said her theater group had never done a Tennessee Williams play.
“But much of his work is the kind of thing we like to do,” she said, referring to the theater’s reputation for staging edgy productions. “When Robin approached us about doing this play, it appealed to us because of its raw and emotional nature.”
Reese noted that the film adaptation of the play was “Baby Doll,” released in 1956, and was very popular even for those who had never heard of the play – it was banned in places because of its implicit sexual themes. The movie starred Carrol Baker, a Johnstown native, in the titular role, which was based on the character of Flora in “27 Wagons.”
“Tennessee Williams’ work is very gutsy, very bold and I think he uses the relationships between men and women as a metaphor for the decline of the American culture,” said Reese, a professional actor, director and playwright.
Reese said she believes that Flora was a “sketch” that Williams used to develop the character of Blanche in the critically acclaimed “A Streetcar Named Desire.” He wrote “27 Wagons” first.
“I feel there is a thread of Blanche in ’27 Wagons,'” she said. “Tennessee Williams was known for using characters over and over until he got what he wanted.”
Stratton said that even though the play was written 70 years ago, “the themes of greed and revenge still are with us.”
The three-scene, one-act play is set in the Mississippi Delta. In it, Jake, a middle-aged, shady cotton gin owner burns down the mill of Silva, a rival in the cotton business. Silva knows what happened but cannot prove it, and he seeks revenge by seducing Jake’s young, delicate wife, Flora.
“I think the play has a lot to do with America at its best, but also at its worst,” Reese said. “Capitalism, people willing to do anything to gain economic stability, even by offering their wife up as payback to get money.”
Current and former students of Reese comprise the cast: Leila McCrumb, a junior, plays Flora, Matt Kresch, a senior, plays Silva, and Jordan Shumaker, a graduate, is Jake.
Reese, who has taught theater at PSA for 12 years, holds a master of fine arts degree from the Actors Studio Drama School in New York City, where she was a year ahead of fellow student and Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper. She said it demonstrates the level of her training, which was followed by theater work in Philadelphia and New York City, including work Off Broadway and Off Off Broadway.
Reese’s New York City directing credits include “Othello” and “Troilus and Cressida.” She also is a successful playwright and screenwriter, having been named a semi-finalist for the prestigious O’Neill Playwright’s Conference in 2008, among other accolades.
She has traveled the United States and Italy performing her own written performance pieces.
From 2004 to 2011, Reese directed at least one show a year at Penn State, including work at Cresson Lake Playhouse, before slowing down for motherhood. Her directing work for Penn State Altoona productions earned her Merit Awards for Distinction in Directing from The Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival for “The Tempest,” “Medea” and “Big Love.”
Her credits in graduate school include the role of Flora in “27 Wagons.”
“So it’s been a real treat for me to direct it,” she said. “It … runs no longer than an hour. It’s jam packed.”
Reese said the coziness of the Church in the Middle of the Block makes it more entertaining for the audience.
“I love the Church in the Middle of the Block and Things Unseen Theatre,” she said. “They’re so encouraging to local artists and they give us a lot of freedom to do our art. … It’s more intimate and a lot like Off Broadway.”
Mirror Staff Writer Cherie Hicks is at 949-7030.