Vinegar Tom
Vinegar Tom
By Caryl Churchill
Directed by Julia Listengarten
Starring Allison Walter, Jason Nettle, and Kayla Zaniboni
UCF Conservatory Theatre, Orlando FL</strong><P>
If you ever idly wondered how Steven Sondheim would do to adapt “The Crucible” into an Emo musical, Caryl Church already did it, and she didn’t even give us a potty break. In the witch hunt happy days of 17th century English country side, the usual stuff happens to a yeoman farmer Jack (Nettle) and his up-tight wife Margery (Zaniboni) – crops fail, cows die, butter won’t churn up, and Jack has misplaced his masculine vigor. At first they blame God for turning away from them, but soon latch onto the fad of the day – it must be witchcraft. Next door lives a good candidate – Alice (Walter) and her mother Joan (Lesley Noyes) are poor, friendless, and tend to damn people to hell when they get upset. When itinerant witch hunter Packer (Casey Nobel) arrives, these women are doomed along with anyone else that hung out with them. Entertainment was precious, and a good execution was more fun than a weekly church service.
Then there’s music. At odd and inexplicable times a 5 piece rock band comes out and does a few numbers. Unlike a true musical, they don’t propel the plot or add motivation or resolution, but the lyrics tend toward cunts and penii and a woman’s role in society. They weren’t bad as post punk feminist protest songs go (although the bass player didn’t seem to have her wireless turned on) but they slowed down the already turgid story line. If the band had just done a set with these songs: not bad. If we had just went through a “classic burn the witch” story: not bad. But together they made time stand still, and not in a good way.
Despite these poor authorial choices, there was some solid acting on this stunning set by Benson Knight. Nettle’s speech about losing his penis was priceless, and “cunning woman” Ellen as the witchy woman was downright creepy, even if she seemed more New Orleans than jolly old England. The opening action between Walter and Luke Bernard was positively erotic, and Packer’s assistant Goody made a good case for justifying their witch burning activities as a social and spiritual good and profitable as well. Packar was given a new way to test for witches – poke them with needles until you find the place that doesn’t bleed. Satan cleverly hides this place, so there is quite a lot of needling to be done.
From a story telling perspective, the “Witch burning as an allegory…” always emphasize the overwhelming power of the accuser. Once accused, there is no recourse or defense and it’s up to the author to decide how long to torture the audience. Due process only aids the powers of evil, and once an ending is inevitable, it’s time to wrap the story. Here we had another half hour of musical numbers, needle poking, and a truly odd vaudeville act. I was told this show empowered women, but the girls I cheered for swung, and that isn’t empowerment, that’s just heaping abuse on indignity.
For more information on UCF Conservatory Theatre, visit http://www.theatre.ucf.edu
