SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER

Hearts of Darkness
The sinister drama of Tennessee Williams

High society has its dirty little secrets in Tennessee Williams' dark drama Suddenly, Last Summer, playing now at Lord Leebrick Theatre. Wealthy New Orleans aristocrat Violet Venable is determined at any cost to protect the reputation of her late son Sebastian, a poet and paragon, who died under mysterious circumstances last summer.

The play opens in the lush, overgrown garden of Mrs. Venable's estate where she has summoned nice young Dr. Cuckrowicz, a surgeon specializing in a new "rehabilitative" technique known as lobotomization. Mrs. Venable is adamant that her niece, Catherine, undergo the procedure because the wretched girl has been telling outlandish tales about Sebastian's death, and her babbling must be stopped.

Assembling at the mansion are Catherine, accompanied by her keeper and caretaker from the sanitarium, Sister Felicity, Catherine's mother Mrs. Holly, and her self-seeking brother, George. They hope to convince Catherine to change her story so that Aunt Violet won't contest Sebastian's will. Though entirely traumatized by what she has experienced, Catherine will not be silenced. The ghastly story of what happened to Sebastian on a beach in faraway Cabeza de Lobo unfolds. Although the doctor seems convinced that she's telling the truth, at play's end, Catherine's future is uncertain.

The two strong women are splendidly portrayed by Sharon Sless as the overbearing Violet Venable and Amy Wray as Catherine Holly. Don't let Sless's petite form and exquisitely groomed, garden-party haute couture fool you; she wields her cane and her biting tongue like weapons. Likewise, Wray's vulnerable, disturbed Catherine is no pushover either. With a sort of defiant swagger, Wray unwaveringly defies her domineering aunt as well as inequitable 1950s social convention.

The supporting cast is admirable as well. As the sympathetic doctor, Bruce McArthur is a faultless foil for the women's brazenness. Ian Armstrong and Kathy LaMontagne are terrific as Catherine's greedy brother, George, and her mother Mrs. Holly, respectively; as are Sharon Wetterling as Sister Felicity and Eileen Peterson as Mrs. Venable's ever-obliging servant, Miss Foxhill.

The vintage 1950s costumes are trés-fab. And kudos go to the set designers and stage and lighting crews, who have fashioned a dark and shadowy garden backdrop, ominous music and a cacophony of birds chirping and insects buzzing to bring to life and compliment the disturbing subject matter and the dark hearts of the play's characters. From brooding start to stunning finish, Suddenly, Last Summer rolls up and over its audience like a sneaker wave on a white-hot beach.

The play continues March 23-26 and 30-31; April 1-2 and 7-8. For tickets, call 465-1506 or e-mail boxoffice@lordleebrick.com

Sharleen Nelson, Eugen Weekly
March 23, 2006