Time-traveling trio explores societal changes
By KAREN SHADE, 11/14/2005
Ronda Celeste Gosso (left), Liz Masters and Mary Forester examine a find during their journey in "On the Verge." MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World
In one scene from "On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning," now playing at the Nightingale Theater, three women sit around a campfire writing journal entries and letters home.
They write about their hopes of glory for their return from an excursion into "terra incognita," they write of the foreign sense of expectation they feel as they continue moving deeper into the jungle, and they show a predisposition for talking behind each other's backs.
Watching actors Liz Masters, Mary Forester and Ronda Celeste Grosso in a display of well-executed, intertwined asides is one of many fine scenes of work within Theatre Club's latest offering, a thought-provoking piece that doesn't neglect humor.
The key to looking at Eric Overmyer's 1982 play is its title. At the turn of the 20th century, Mary (Masters), Fanny (Forester) and Alexandra (Grosso) are women "on the verge" of a society about to undergo substantial changes.
While Mary and Fanny argue for skirts and side saddles, Alexandra is known for occasionally sporting trousers to ride full astride.
Their arguments on the hot topic liven their sojourn together as they set out to explore unknown lands minus any guides. A map wouldn't do them any good anyway.
"Ladies, shall we bushwhack," Mary pronounces rather than asks.
Her keen sense of propriety of the age is most evident in her language. Actually, it's true for all three characters, who speak in the sometimes antiquated verbiage of bygone days when etiquette and finishing schools were the social fashion.
Alexandra is the first to display the effects of their travels, as unusual (for her) words and expressions begin to slip into her vocabulary. The women trek onward through a jungle and begin to find strange objects, including a hand mixer they mistake for a small fan, on along the way.
Mary is the first to figure out that no map will help them on their journey because they are not moving only across physical space, but also through time.
Director George Romero has done a fine job casting the production with actors demonstrating how well they understand their characters.
I'd hesitate to call Grosso's performance as the exuberant Alexandra understated, but Grosso skillfully exudes joy and childlike anticipation in Alexandra without pushing it past credibility.
Alexandra welcomes the changes she sees and senses and is the first to absorb the incoming knowledge of the future. Watching her "osmose" the concept of a radio, something a character of her time wouldn't know about, was a treat.
Mary and Fanny, both guarded in what the future will bring (which ceases to be a mere expression), are similar in many ways. Fanny is most adamant to avoid her future in fast forward, but she changes her mind as she starts to articulate a longing to meet the mysterious Mr. Coffee, who is anything but a small home appliance.
The look on Forester's face when she approaches actor Daniel Fugatt to ask if he is Mr. Coffee indicates she is honest and without sarcasm.
Mary, the eldest traveler, is more set in her ways though not without curiosity. It makes it all the more pleasant when she decides to embrace that curiosity.
Her addresses to the audience are meaningful because Masters is invested in her part.
Humor abounds throughout the show, partly thanks to Fugatt's zoo of zaniness (which includes a yeti, a cannibal and a fortune teller), but also thanks to the chemistry among the women.
Masters deadpans to perfection when she turns to a mildly ranting Fanny: "Don't snip or snide, dear."
In each of the women, their yearning for what lies in the future for each becomes more prominent as they continue on foot to the 1950s, and they must decide when the journey will end.
Funny and thoughtful, "On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning" continues this weekend at the Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, and tickets are $10. For more, call Theatre Club at 557-8012, or send an e-mail to theatreclubtulsa@yahoo.com.