Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
By CHRISTOPHER BLANK
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 7, 2000
SARASOTA -- The most emotionally taxing plays are never merely happy or sad. They're bittersweet, like life itself. The effort it takes to watch is worthwhile when it's a show like Morning Star, now at the Asolo Theatre.
Set in a New York tenement during the first half of the 20th century, Silvia Regan's lovingly performed drama about a family of Russian Jews revives the spirit of the working class in a production that effuses sepia and sentiment.
Interestingly, the play failed when it premiered in 1940. Perhaps the audience, bracing for a war, didn't need a realistic drama about facing hardships. One of the characters, a songwriter, can't sell his "sad" music during a war because, he says, "they want happy songs! Optimistic songs! Songs that will make " 'em forget we're still fighting a war."
Current times are better for Morning Star. It reminds us that the real American dream is about hard work and perseverance in the face of woe.
At the center of the dream is Becky Felderman, an immigrant widow, played graciously by Carolyn Michel. The small-statured actor channels epic emotion into her part, fully explored by the end of the play. Her house in 1910 is overrun with people: three daughters, a son and a boarder who sleeps on the couch.
Among the regular visitors are an idealistic schoolteacher (played by Steven Snyder), who tutors Felderman for her citizenship exam and becomes her daughter's love interest. There is a socialist radical (David S. Howard) who, aside from lending comic relief, gives historical perspective on working conditions. The oldest daughter's slaphappy fiance (Gregory Funaro) is a struggling composer conflicted about moving to California to write for motion pictures, a novelty at the time.
In a way, the plot moves like the "Carousel of Progress" ride at Disney World. As the years progress, the home changes. The couch becomes fancier, the piano is replaced by a radio.
The carousel stops at moments of historic importance that deeply affect the family: the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, World War I, the Great Depression.
Throughout the years, the characters try to find love and hope amid the despair and heartache. By the end of this nearly three-hour ride, the audience leaves with a deeper understanding of the American Dream.
Morning Star continues in repertory at the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota through Feb. 28. Call (800) 361-8388.