The Graduate
The Graduate
Adapted by Terry Johnson and Charles Webb
From works by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry
Directed Joshua Eads-Brown
Starring Tyler Robert Conrady and Rochelle Curbow Wheeler
In The Wings Productions in conjunction with
Rocking Horse Theater Factory
Orlando, FL</strong>
I suspect even if you never saw the film version of the show the lines “Plastics” and “Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?” are somewhere in your all purpose pop culture encyclopedia. While this stage show differs significantly from the film version, it’s mostly because of additions and rearrangements, not all of which help the story. The bones of the action revolve around Benjamin Braddock (Conrady) who’s out of college and hanging around until grad school kicks in. He’s a bit lost, teaching no longer appeals and maybe a Kerouac inspired field trip is in order. A week of drinking with bums and drifters clears that romantic notion, leaving him free to be seduced by the wife of his dad’s business partner wife Mrs. Robinson (Wheeler). The affair is heated but loveless; her alcoholism has left her with libido but few conversation skills. When her daughter Elaine (Lorelei Sandberg) shows up, Mrs. Robinson is adamant they stay apart, but Ben’s dear old dad (Matt Stevens) and Mr. Robinson (Jeff Hole) set them up. The pair hits it off until the dirt spills, Elian’s is disgusted, Ben stalks her to Berkley, and we spend a good half hour figuring out whether she’ll marry Ben or some stable, attractive medical student.
While the cast had some rough spots, this was overall an enjoyable production of a genuine obscurity. Ms Curbow-Wheeler looked the part of the bored 1960’s house wife with gin and money on her hands, and while Conrady’s Ben seemed overly soft, he was always properly shocked by her actions. I won’t say they had a great chemistry, but in these roles there’s not supposed to be chemistry, just a spare towel to wipe up with. Jeff Hole was amazing as the jilted husband and Sandburg’s Elaine seems genuinely confused yet perfectly willing to sacrifice love for stability. After all, she had mom as an example. Story wise, Ben’s road trip does little to enhance his character, it’s a bold step but even when he returns home hangover with a wild story of four hookers and a major firefighting experience, he seems no wiser or more focused.
This was my first trip to the new and long anticipated Rocking Horse Theatre Factory; it’s located in an industrial garage with scary stuff up in the rafters and big plans for expansion. Right now they have neither heat nor AC so dress appropriately. The location sounds scary, but seemed no worse than any other random industrial area. I suggest you check it out, tickets are reasonable and there’s a bit of a bar, so there have their priorities right unlike Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson.
Find out more about Rocking Horse events at https://www.facebook.com/#!/rockinghorsetheaterfactory
