Hovering somewhere above, or more likely below, his old northwest Denver home, the ghost of
George S. Swartz is surely smiling. His perfectly landscaped flower beds are blooming, punch and cookies again are spread on his dining-room table, and the sign above the only toilet – “please don’t flush during the show” – is freshly dusted.
Most wonderfully, magic again is being made on the stage Swartz carved out of his basement 94 years ago.
Last Friday’s reopening of the Victorian Theatre, the oldest community theater west of the Mississippi, felt just right. After four years of dormancy, a fine cast of players is spinning a terrific yarn around its audience’s heart and back in time to, appropriately enough, Swartz’s turn- of-the-century youth.
And because you knew something ethereal just had to happen, there also was evidence of inexplicable mischief: A tub of melting ice seeped water through the upstairs floorboard and brought some unexpected but harmless drops of rain into a scene in “Voice of the Prairie.” Perhaps a little joke played by the Vic’s ghosts just to remind everyone they too have been recharged?
John Olive’s whimsical tale, which at times gets a bit bogged down in its own verbosity, is pure Mark Twain mixed with Garrison Keillor and Robert James Waller. It recounts the adventures of an orphaned teenager named Davey (Alex Hill) who loves and loses a spunky blind girl named Frankie (Katie Paxton). Because the script is imaginatively constructed to alternate between 1895 and 1923, we simultaneously discover how a grown Davey (James Nantz) turns his inherited gift for blarney into radio stardom. His stories bring him celebrity, hastening the collision of his past and present.
This earnest production, lovingly directed by Terry Dodd, opens with an old-fashioned slide show depicting the grim realities of life on the Midwestern prairie. Our introduction to Davey’s grandpa (the great Arthur Goodman), who looks and sounds as if he simply walked out from the Irish Sea and onto this stage, is all too brief.
But this is Davey’s story, and he is soon left to fend for himself. His life changes when he meets Frankie, whose abusive Pop could give Twain’s Pap a run for his whiskey. Alas, as quickly as these youngsters discover love, they are separated.
Fast forward 28 years and an adult Davey, finely tuned by con artist Leon Schwab (Harry Cruzan), is a ready-for-primetime player. His gentle stories about “Frankie the Blind Girl” have spurred national interest in the fate of his long-lost love. The question now is what will happen once he inevitably finds her.
As the youngsters, Hill and Paxton are thoroughly winning. They have a familiarity from being pals at Cherry Creek High, but their rapport onstage is rare for actors at any age. And they’re perfectly compatible with their highly skilled adult counterparts, Nantz and Terry Ann Watts. These four organic, subtle approaches to character are perfect for the intimacy of the Vic.
A small bump in Dodd’s first-class train ride is the far more presentational depiction of Leon by Cruzan, a fine actor whose performance here is a bit incongruous. Sure, Leon is a big, bellicose salesman, but in a production filled with grounded, internalized moments, he comes off as a bit artificial. Allowing for contrast between the bombastic on-air shyster and a toned-down real man away from the mic would bring needed differentiation.
Dodd’s simple set design gets beautiful accentuation from Karalyn Pytel’s light design and the great El Armstrong’s sound. The uncredited set design holds one marvelous surprise: A barn door opens to reveal the view from a moving train. One leap of faith will launch this pair’s adventures and exploration of the heart.
The reopening night sadly did not fill the Vic’s 75 seats, and no matter how many ghosts are rattling in the basement, there can’t be enough to make up that difference. This play is a splendid opportunity for curious neighbors and theater aficionados to take part in Denver’s history.
Take the leap. As it is with young love or old love rekindled, something wonderful awaits below.
As Davey signs off with his listeners, “Well … that’s all for now, I guess.”
Theater critic John Moore can be reached at 303-820-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com.
*** | “Voice of the Prairie”
DRAMA|Victorian Theatre, 4201 Hooker St.|Written by John Olive|Directed by Terry Dodd |Starring James Nantz, Alex Hill, Katie Paxton, Terry Ann Watts and Harry Cruzan|THROUGH OCT. 16|7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays,6 p.m. Sundays|2 hours, 35 minutes|$18-$20 |303-433-4343
3more
“MASTER HAROLD … AND THE BOYS” South African Athol Fugard’s story, once banned in his homeland, follows the interaction between two black waiters and the white owners’ 17-year-old son. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, and 2:30 most Sundays, through Oct. 22, at the Bas Bleu Theatre, 401 Pine St., Fort Collins. Tickets $10-$19 (970-498-8949).
“THE UNDERPANTS” The Aurora Fox becomes the third local company this year to tackle the tough task of staging comedian Steve Martin’s awkward adaptation of the classic 1910 German comedy “Die Hose,” about a woman who comes to fame after her underpants fall down while attending a parade for the king. 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 16, at 9900 E. Colfax Ave. Tickets $18-$22 (303-739-1970).
“PROMISCUITY” Denver playwright Steve Paulding’s racy bedroom farce concerns four men who love their women – and their men. This premiere staging is presented by the Playwright Theatre at 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, through Oct. 22, at 2119 E. 17th Ave. Tickets $15-$20 (303-499-0383).
-John Moore
