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diversions
'The
Wild Duck' waddles in Glendale
By Cynthia Tom
On-line Forty-Niner
"The Wild
Duck" corners the story of a man confronted with lies
he has always held to be true.
Hjalmar Ekdal lives
the life of a struggling photographer, devoted husband and
loving father. While a guest in the home of his childhood
friend, Gregers Werle, the contrast is clearly defined between
the Werles' affluent lifestyle and the humble reality that
is the Ekdals' lives.
It is at a society
dinner party at the Werles' home that the two friends come
together to catch up on old times, and the deception underlying
Ekdal's happy life is revealed to the audience. It is in this
scene that Gregers, also, is made aware of the lies that are
paramount in Ekdal's unassuming happiness.
Geoff Elliott is
great as Hjalmar Ekdal, conveying a sense of childlike purity
and innocence. Opposite Elliott, Dougald Park shines as Gregers
Werle, a man unaffected by his family's social standing and
more interested in what he considers to be true than in family
honor.
Gregers makes it
his personal crusade to show Hjalmar his life in its true
light, declaring it his mission in life to lay the foundation
of truth and morality in his friend's reality.
The tables turn
on the childhood friends as Gregers becomes a dinner guest
in the home of the still-unassuming Hjalmar.
Julia Coffey, Lily
Nicksay and James Karr are introduced as Gina, Hedvig and
Old Ekdal, the wife, daughter and father, respectively, of
Hjalmar. It is clearly shown that though the Ekdals need to
struggle financially, they are not lacking in familial affection.
Coffey, Nicksay
and Karr are great as a supportive, loving family that must
struggle as their world is undone by the truths revealed.
The events that
unfold are harrowing, and the end result is tragic. The cast
and crew clearly work hard at this story that explodes as
it reveals shattered lives and lost hope.
Stripped of the
certainties he has built his life around, Hjalmar's character
raises profound issues to the audience as the dialogue states,
"If you deprive the average man of his delusions, you
take away his happiness as well."
Despite the heavy
theme of the play, comic relief is provided through Hjalmar's
"me me me" rhetoric. His very selfish view of his
position is juxtaposed against Greger's idealistic "do-good"
role. The two fall very nicely into their self-appointed roles
of "victim" and "savior."
The play culminates
beautifully under the direction of Cal State Long Beach theatre
arts professor Adrian Giurgea. As the actors interact
and feed off of one another, it becomes clear that Giurgea
is one of the production's leading stars. His students,
it seems, would agree.
"He's very
organic in his approach and teaches students to approach a
role not as a character, but as if it were yourself,"
said Phil Asenas, a senior comparative literature major who
is currently enrolled in Giurgea's class. "He gives students
a foundation for a sensory connection with their characters."
Also to the credit
of the production, fellow CSULB theatre arts professor Danila
Korogodsky acts as set designer.
"We had limited
capabilities since [A Noise Within] is a repertory company
that is playing three plays," Korogodsky said. "Still,
it was not a question of money or resources, it was a question
of finding ideas to enlighten the storyline."
Korogodsky answers
these questions well in his successful and effective portrayal
of the contrasting lifestyles of the lead characters. Creating
the ambiance of both the indoors and outdoors and both the
affluent and humble, Korogodsky's design complements the storyline
without overshadowing it.
"This is a
very humane story that is full of human relationships,"
he said. "Whenever you're dealing with anything like
that, it's very exciting. Nothing is too difficult if you
put your imagination to it."
"The Wild
Duck" is playing at A Noise Within Theatre in Glendale
now through May 19.
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