| Home Writers Directory Carol Davis May 6, 2007 |
by Carol Davis
SAN DIEGO —If ever there was a time to sing praises for the acting prowess of Jim Chovick, now is the time to do it. While some might describe him as robust in stature, as opposed to tall and overpowering, he managed to cast a giant shadow over the evening on opening night at the Cygnet’s showing of Eugene O’Neill’s Desire Under The Elms as Ephraim Cabot, patriarch of the Cabot family and farm, and an ever present presence whether on stage or off. No stranger to San Diego stages, Chovick also played the strong and all knowing Big Daddy in Cygnet’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof a few seasons back. Like Big Daddy, Ephraim Cabot is one source to be reckoned with as his three sons and new wife soon realized.
O’Neill’s story begins on the
Connecticut Cabot farm that seems to have more rocks, stones and boulders than
cows and corn but over the years Ephraim has managed to grow, feed and nurture
his land. The time is 1850 and Ephraim has left the farm to his three sons to
run while he (we later learn) is out seeking a new wife and mother to his three
grown offspring. Two of the boys, Peter and Simeon (John Garcia and Craig
Huisenga) are the product of his first marriage and Eban (Francis Gercke) is the
result of the last. It’s evident from the outset that the three are no buds, no
pals, not even close.
Jessica John is romanced by Frances Gerce (l) and
plays opposite Jim
Chovick's powerful portrayal of Ephraim Cabot in Desire
Under the Elms.
—Randy Rovang photos
The one thing all three lust after is the farm, the land which each feels should be his when the ‘old man’ dies.’ They all have their reasons for thinking that, but Eban seems to have a plan for making sure he is the one who actually does anything about it. Finding some coins buried in a pile of rocks, (unfortunately, Ephraim hid them there), Eben bribes his brothers, who have dreams of going West and farming for gold, to sell him their parcels so he can have it all to himself when the old man kicks the bucket.
There’s one BIG obstacle that none of them considered. Ephraim, at 79 is as healthy as an ox and is not going to die off so fast. When he comes home with a new, young, (25) sexy and ambitious wife, there is no sense of him slowing down. But above all, the senior Cabot has no use for any of his offspring and would rather see the farm go to seed than to them. He thinks they are all wastrels, soft and undeserving. The struggle for the land, the struggle to fit in, to be accepted, to end years of loneliness and subjugation, suppression and hate by all the characters drive this play as much as the passions of love, lust, sensuality and greed do.
By the time Ephraim comes back from his trip, the two older sons are gone and just Eben is waiting for him. When he sees the young, soft and sexy Abby (Jessica John) he is more convinced than ever that he must have the farm. In his heart, he believes the farm belonged to his beloved mother, who he now sees Abby replacing. Now the possibility of another person in line for the land is real and Abby makes no bones about it.
It doesn’t take long for Eben and Abby to feel the pull of sex, lust and betrayal. Eben is young, hot and his only experience with women have been the local prostitutes which all the men on the farm had used. Now he heeds the passion of Abby and for reasons, at first of pure hatred he allows her to lure him to her. When lust turns to love and they cannot hide their feelings, things get sticky with Ephraim. She promises him a baby, to show him how much she loves him, and a baby she delivers. Neither men get it at first that the baby is Eben’s, but Ephraim struts around like a young bull who just killed the toreador. No matter, now the land belongs to the child. Eben has a fit when he first realizes it and in a rage wishes the baby dead even though he knows it’s his. Abby, afraid of losing him and to show him she really loves him more than she wants the land, smothers the baby.
With passions overflowing like these its hard to ignore the heat of the moment of the two lovers. Both Gercke and John played the hot and neglected lovers in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, the same production Chovick played Big Daddy and the air could be cut with a knife in that production. With all the players in their places in Desire Huisenga and Garcia managed to get the two bumbling brothers right. They came back later for smaller, other people parts. Unfortunately, I never felt the deep connection, the true lust, the deep passion or the coldness in John’s Abby. Gercke’s Eben showed the passion for the land but his passion for Abby felt lacking. It’s not that their love scenes weren't laced with emotional heat, it just didn't feel convincing. While both actors have what it takes to put that out, their opening night performance was a let down. Hats off to Chovick who hit the mark every time.
Sean Murray’s direction, as usual, is smart and detailed including his set design with a miniature house with an elm tree off to the side in the back of the stage while wooden planks spread across the length separating the bedrooms of Abby and Ephraim from Eben’s. In the middle of the planks stood a sole rocking chair symbolic of Eben’s mother’s always present shadow in the show. Against the back wall he created a dark backwash serving as a premonition of what was to come. Eric Lotze’s lighting is brilliant, creating all the eerie atmosphere needed while Jeanne Reith’s costumes make the period convincing. Original music by The Cowles Mountain Boys lent some scene changing diversions to the production.
O’Neill’s play, written in 1924, has been compared with Greek Tragedy, (Oedipus, Jason, Media) and Old Testament teaching’s, (Thou shalt not covet” Thou shalt not Kill”, “Honor thy Father and Mother”). A tragedy it is, and of a 10 magnitude on the Richter scale. It was also a movie with Burl Ives, Sophia Loren and Anthony Perkins. But I wouldn’t run out to rent it, rather go to Cygnet.
Desire Under the Elms continues through June 3. Cygnet Theatre is located at 6663 El Cajon Blvd. in East San Diego. It can be reached at: 619-337-1525 or www.cygnettheatre.com
See you at the theatre.