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The Pavilion at Dorset Theatre Festival: Review

Craig Wright’s The Pavilion is the first of five plays that will be running this summer at the Dorset Theatre Festival in Dorset, VT. One of four plays in a series that centers around Pine City, Minnesota, The Pavilion provides a highly entertaining glimpse into the world of unrequited love. The play focuses on two former high school sweethearts, who were voted “the cutest couple in school.” After a nasty breakup and twenty years of unhappiness under their belts, the two are reacquainted at their 20-year high school reunion, which takes place at the town’s 100-year-old pavilion.

If the plot sounds familiar, it is to some degree, but what makes this play unique is its lack of a cliché ending and some pretty all-around dynamic performances from its three-person cast. The story revolves around two characters, Peter, the lonely and distraught psychologist in this romance gone awry and Kari, Peter’s now unhappily married (and formerly scorned) female counterpart.

Twenty years ago, Peter moved from Pine City, the only character in the play to have done so, but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. He’s spent the past 20 years tormented by his decision of abandoning Kari, and despite being a successful psychologist, he clearly has no skills to manage his own life.

Kari’s in a dead-end job and a stagnant relationship with her husband, Hans the Golf Pro, who charmed her into marrying him after Peter dumped her, and now resents her for not giving him children. In one funny moment, Kari relays how their sex life has diminished to pathetic proportions.

Through the course of the play, the two attempt to come to terms with what’s happened and face their fears and inadequacies after having had no contact for so long.

Both actors, Jeremiah Wiggins (Peter) and Sarah Kate Jackson (Kari), give solid performances as they embark on this journey, with a depth and humor that reminds us of what it means to be human and to want so much to go back in time and change our past mistakes.

At the center of the play is The Narrator, played by Antoinette LaVecchia, who in many ways is truly the star here. LaVecchia’s brilliant, mercurial performance alone is worth seeing, as she switches characters (both male and female reunion guests) with a rapid-fire precision and spot-on comic timing that’s reminiscent of Robin Williams. It should be noted as well that LaVecchia plays all of the guests at the reunion (multiple characterizations that easily strike the double-digits), a feat that takes a highly accomplished actress, which LaVechhia is. She was recently nominated for a Tony Award for her work in the revival of A View from the Bridge, which starred Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schrieber.

The part of the Narrator has some additional roles as well–the character serves as a God-like figure, an element furthered by her role as emcee of the evening’s events, and acts as both the keeper of time and creator of the universe we’ve come to visit, with time being the major theme here.

In The Pavilion, Wright focuses on how we have no choice but to live in the moment and attempting to recreate or relive the past is an impossibility, when all we have before us is linear-moving time, and that each of us are the creators of our own personal universe.

The hope here is that by the various characters confronting each other, particularly by Peter and Kari confronting one another, there comes the possibility of change, even if the change can’t happen together.

Nothing earth shattering happens here, but that’s kind of the point, as the play is deeply rooted in reality. And the script and performances are tightly woven, well-rounded and vastly entertaining, more than enough so to make this show well worth seeing.

The play is also complimented by taut, unobtrusive direction by award-winning NYC director Giovanna Sardelli, and a sparse set design by Debra Booth.

The play, which opened on June 28^th, will run through July 11^th at the Dorset Playhouse in Dorset, VT. For more information on the Dorset Theatre Festival, and its list of shows playing throughout the summer, click here.

–This article is co-written by Dave Bower and Monica Sirignano, Publishers of The Free George.

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