by Dan Mayer
A name like Tennessee Williams can seem larger than life, preceded by a huge reputation and a world-renowned body of work, but even Tennessee was once simply Tom. Harbinger Theatre‘s production of A Distant Country Called Youth paints a portrait of Williams before his success, and it’s a marvelously vibrant picture full of nuance, laughs, and surprises.
The period of Williams’ young adult life covered by the play is conveyed entirely through his correspondence to various people. There is a certain musicality to the monologues, each letter feeling like a song in a larger concept album, and a narrative gradually forms as Williams keeps in touch with family, struggles to get his work published, and reaches out to friends and loved ones in moments of longing and self-doubt. It’s a story about a man at odds with the world around him, constantly feeling out of place, always searching for somewhere he belongs, as well as for his own voice.
Patrick White portrays the young Williams with a remarkable vibrancy and enthusiasm. White gets a lot of cardio in the course of an hour and a half, and while the stage at Mopco is hardly small, it’s not large enough to contain the performance, which sometimes spills out into the aisle and along the sides of the stage. White constantly moves through the space, interacting with the set and shifting positions to set us in the time and place of each letter he delivers. His travels across the stage mimic Williams’ actual travels from city to city across the years, lending the performance a continuous forward momentum as the story is propelled onward. There’s never a dull moment, and rarely even a quiet reflective one. White barely has time to catch his breath as the breakneck pace leaves virtually no pause between letters and destinations, between excitement and heartache, rejection and triumph. It’s an immense accomplishment, both of acting and physical stamina.
Just as White’s energy and Southern cadence match the musicality of the material, both the lighting (Stephen Wilson) and sound design (Shaya Reyes) support the melodic journey the audience is taken on. The stage lights shift with the emotional peaks and valleys of Williams’ life, from sultry reds to sorrowful blues and purples, and so on. The mechanical clicks of typewriters and telegraph machines signal transitions from one moment to the next, the sounds of rainfall punctuate White’s comical complaining about the weather, and soft melodies from the time period follow him across the years. The overall effect is spectacular.
The final moments of the show are some of the most gratifying for a writer, as Williams buoyed by the recent success of The Glass Menagerie excitedly describes the unfinished story beats of his next play, which will go on to be perhaps his most famous. After so many tumultuous travels and years of soul-searching, seeing him finding his voice and his audience is a delightful emotional high, and one that White brings to life with as much youthful vigor as he began the show with.
You don’t need to be a longtime fan of Tennessee Williams to appreciate A Distant Country Called Youth. This is a delightful show about a fascinating writer, one you won’t want to miss.
Harbinger presents A Distant Country Called Youth by Steve Lawson, directed by Linda Shirey, runs from April 23rd – May 3rd, at Mopco Improv Theatre, 10 North Jay Street in Schenectady, NY. Cast: Patrick White as Thomas Lanier “Tennessee” Williams. Stage Manager: Kathryn Capalbo. Assistant Stage Manager: Stephen Henel. Lighting Design: Stephen Wilson. Sound Design: Shaya Reyes. Set Design: Maghen Ryan-Adair. Costume Design: Colleen Lovett. Line Coach: Debby Bercier.
Performance dates are Friday – Sunday, April 23rd – May 3rd. Friday and Saturday curtains are at 7:30 pm, and Sundays are matinees only at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $15. Runs approximately 90 minutes without intermission. Tickets are available online. Visit https://www.actingclasswithpatrickwhite.net/ for more information.