By JAMES D. WATTS JR. Scene Writer on Jan 11, 2013, at 2:07 PM Updated on 1/11 at 2:07 PM
ARTS
Celebrity Attractions announced that Disney Theatricals will donate a portion of this week's ticket sales to the Tulsa run ...
Tulsa native Tracy Letts won the Outstanding Actor in a Play at the 58th annual Drama Desk Awards, presented Sunday night ...
A great many things must work together properly for an airplane is ever going to leave the ground.
The same thing is ...
CONTACT THE BLOGGER
918-581-8478
Email
The old theatre adage is, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.”
Theatre Tulsa’s latest production, “Tuesdays with Morrie,” is all about the former, seasoned with a bit of the latter.
And while this play, adapted from Mitch Albom’s book of the same name by Albom and Jeffery Hatcher, is far from being a profound piece of theater, actors Tom Berenson and Freddie Tate give this story of a callow younger man and his terminally ill mentor a quietly captivating depth and resonance.
Albom was a Detroit sportwriter and columnist, and would likely have remained that had it not been for seeing Morrie Schwartz, a sociology professor whose classes Albom attended in college, being interviewed on the TV show “Nightline” about his impending death from ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
It prompts Albom to reconnect with his former teacher, who viewed the younger man as a surrogate son. And it sets the stage for a series of conversations and pronouncements about life and death and happiness, as Morrie tries to get Mitch to take some time from his hectic schedule of work and travel, and truly appreciate the life he has.
Nothing Morrie says will be new to anyone who has thumbed through a few self-help books, or spent some time perusing the wordier greeting cards at one’s local market.
But Berenson delivers Morrie’s words of wisdom with real grace. He expresses the obvious love and concern Morrie has for Mitch is a way that is open but not maudlin. And he delivers Morrie’s gently sarcastic one-liners with a perfect sense of timing and understatement.
Even more impressive is how Berenson depicts Morrie’s gradual decline. It’s subtly handled, and so gradual and effective it’s a little startling to see Morrie dancing again in the brief tableau after the final scene.
Tate as Mitch gives this basically static character a measure of decency — Mitch is self-absorbed, yet Tate’s performance makes you think that his Mitch is at least a little troubled by this quality. And his interactions with Berenson’s Morrie have a natural, easy rhythm.
Director Martha Cherbini has shaped this play with a careful, yet light hand. Rich Goss designed the set, Owen Hawbaker did the lighting, and Jerome Stevenson and Sara Phoenix created the sound design, which has a few irritating glitches at Thursday’s opening night performance.
“Tuesday with Morrie” continues with performances at 8 p.m Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday in the Doenges Theatre, Tulsa PAC, 110 E. Second St. For tickets: 918-596-7111, tulsaworld.com/mytix.
Only active print or digital subscribers of the Tulsa World are allowed to post comments on stories posted to Tulsaworld.com. After you fill out the form below and click submit, your comment will be published instantly online along with your screen name.
By clicking "Submit" you are agreeing to our terms and conditions.
