CRITIC’S PICK
In case you needed a reminder that the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company doesn’t deal exclusively with plays by the Bard, you’ll find a story by another literary giant presently onstage at the company’s new Over-the-Rhine theater: Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It’s the first time the company has undertaken a work by the great American novelist. The result, staged by Sara Clark, is both satisfying and entertaining.
Clark was first exposed to Tom and Huckleberry Finn’s adventures at age 9 when her fourth-grade teacher read the novel to her and her classmates.
“It’s quite a joy to be working with it again,” Clark says. “Laura Eason’s adaptation really leans into the storytelling. The actors are all narrators, and Twain’s slightly ironic narrator voice is present throughout the show.” Most actors play several roles.
As Tom, actor Cary Davenport is the only performer with a singular role. His partner in adventure is Kyle Brumley as Huck, and they adeptly act as kids without descending into coy silliness. Clark said she first thought of Davenport, who has acted with Cincy Shakes for five seasons, when she read the script. She stressed the importance of not play-acting, urging the actors to seek the honesty of every moment. “There’s a level of seriousness with which kids take things, following the rules of play,” she says.
Clark mentions that the new theater has enabled a longer rehearsal period. “We don’t have to maximize every second and we have more flexibility for attention to detail,” she says. “We used it for more conversations about play and childhood.”
When rehearsals began, Clark asked the actors to answer a question: “What did you love to do when you were 10?” They discovered a lot of common ground, especially stories about playing games. “Every rehearsal started with a theater game for 10 minutes,” she says. “An element of play was essential to the story and that got everyone into the mood.”
Davenport readily picked up on this, Clark adds, saying he delivers “a lovely, goofy, fun-loving performance.”
Davenport also manages to show how Tom is evolving from an adventure-seeking, devil-may-care kid into a more responsible young man. When he and Huck witness a serious crime, they are the only ones who can ensure that a murder is not pinned on an innocent man. They wrestle mightily with doing the right thing, and despite the risks, Tom stands up in court and tells the truth.
For a whiff of adolescent romance, Davenport is matched with Caitlin McWethy as Becky Thatcher. Tom does his best to impress her, but he’s easily distracted by his adventures with Huck.
McWethy blends some girlishness with an occasionally mischievous streak of strength. Their story arc in the second act reveals another element of growing up that’s threaded into Eason’s script.
But ultimately this production is about reveling in the fun of childhood, with a strong dose of nostalgic storytelling.
It’s enhanced by designer Shannon Robert’s basic but highly adaptable set that has things popping up in surprising ways. A few flat panels are flipped up to denote the cemetery. Other items are unfolded from the stage floor, such as chairs and tables in a schoolroom with an officious teacher or the church with a long-winded minister. (Christopher Jordan Salazar plays both roles and serves as the show’s villain, Injun Joe.) The flexible design enables the show to move swiftly from scene to scene; it’s about two hours, including an intermission.
Placing the show in its time and locale are evocative sound effects and especially Americana/Bluegrass musical interludes that carry the narrative along and set moods that quickly shift from hilarity to solemnity and from fear to fun. Sound designer Douglas J. Borntrager deserves special praise for supporting the production’s tonal shifts.
Playwright Eason has another adaptation, Huck Finn, based on Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Given the success of this production, I suspect we might find more adventures in a future Cincinnati Shakespeare season.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is onstage at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company (1195 Elm St., OTR) through Dec. 9. Tickets and more info: cincyshakes.com.
This article appears in Nov 15-22, 2017.
