CSU play has strong message, but technical issues to work out

By W. Noel Johnston

Great art can be defined as that which overcomes the ravages of time and speaks in relevant ways well beyond its era of creation. Such a play is Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's classic "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," now in production at Colorado State University.

Written in the '50s and based on the poet-naturalist-philosopher's protest of the Spanish-American War, "Thoreau" still rings with elegant truths about the senselessness of war, the dangers of autocratic presidents, the need to protect Mother Earth, and the essence of education. As I watched the final dress rehearsal, I couldn't help but think that attending this play should be required of every politician, industrialist and school board member within 50 miles of campus.

I love this script, yet I must say I was a bit disappointed in the CSU production. Some of the technical issues will, no doubt, be straightened out by opening, but overall the show seemed flat, lacking intensity and pace. In acting parlance, there seemed to be little "at stake."

Anyone who struggled through Thoreau in high school remembers that he is generous with words, and this play has lots and lots of words, most of them spoken by Henry himself, played by Lucas Sweet. Genuinely gentle and charming, Sweet is physically perfect for the role, lean and lanky with a boyish grin, but he must learn to play the varying rhythms and tones of his speeches, else the audience tune him out. Hamlet told the players to "speak the speech trippingly on the tongue" -- excellent advice for Sweet and other key players, such as Soleil Lean as Lydian and Erin Fried as Ellen. These young actors must not confuse intensity with lack of volume, as too many of their lines were lost.

The portrayals of Matthew Smith as Waldo Emerson, Quentin Schroeder as John Thoreau and Joey Lesiak as Bailey were highlights. Smith has an imposing presence which well suits the pompous Emerson, although I wished his voice had been more authoritarian. Schroeder seemed relaxed and at ease as Henry's fun-loving brother, and Lesiak brought an earthy charm to the illterate Bailey, Thoreau's cellmate.

I would like to have seen a larger, more boisterous chorus of townspeople, and the percussionists listed in the program never showed up. But overall the play is worth seeing.

I congratulate director Laura Jones on her choice of a drama which has many important things to say. In her director's notes, Jones states that the play addresses "with power and clarity the perils of (Thoreau's) own time and, prophetically, of ours as well." She's right. And a night with this Thoreau is a night well spent.

Cautionary note to those who have not attended a CSU play for a couple of years: The theater is not on the old campus anymore. The University Arts Center is located in the beautifully remodeled old Fort Collins High School, on Remington Avenue, near the corner of Pitkin.

TO GO

"The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail"

Written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Presented by the Colorado State University School of the Arts; Directed by Laura Jones

Times: 8 p.m., Friday, Saturday, and Dec. 6, 7 and 8; 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: University Theatre at the University Center for the Arts (formerly Fort Collins High School)

Tickets: $16, $14/seniors and $7/CSU Students. To purchase, go to the Campus Box Office at the Lory Student Center, call (970) 491-4TIX, or go to www.csutix.com.