Mendocino Theatre Company presents Visiting Mr. Green
It was the opening night of a new season for Mendocino Theatre Company’s Visiting Mr. Green, by playwright Jeff Baron, directed by Ricci Dedola, the first theatre gathering since the Cemetery Club Gala in March 2020. That play, as beautiful a work as it was, barely saw the light of the stage, closed down because of the Pandemic. In that review I said, and I repeat for the sake of reminding —
In a time when the public is told that we should not touch —not a handshake, a hug, or a kiss, Mendocino Theatre Company brings us into an intimate conversation amongst three female friends, about what it is to touch and be touched, the unwritten codes of relationship, marriage, life, and death.
Over two years later we meet again. Fully masked, proof of vaccination is shown before entering the sacred realm of our Mendocino Theatre Company We enter the ante-chamber, there greeted by beloved friends and tribe This time, heads are turned to the side, and hugs and handshakes are exchanged. Eyes gaze for a moment. Tears rise up in gratitude. We have returned.
Visiting Mr. Green has similar themes to Cemetery Club — relationship and the ever vital so-muchmore. Perhaps all drama, life itself, basically share this theme. While Cemetery Club is about intimate female relations, Mr. Green begins with an accidental — perhaps God ordained it? — meeting between two men, the elder Mr. Green, and Ross, a young man who is forced to do community service by the court. And thus the weekly visits to Mr. Green, an unwilling, grumpy old man, begin.
Kosher meals brought by the younger to the elder begin to break down the old man’s resistance to having a stranger in my (his) house. Ross’s direct and considerate approach to the elder’s resistance ultimately breaks down the conversations into greater intimacy, revealing “secrets” on both their parts. Ross and Mr. Green share the Jewish religion, albeit from unique perspectives. Much to the elder’s consternation, Ross gets into Mr. Green’s business, his mail, his past, and his present; all lending greatly to the fact, and to the funny, in this articulate yet downto-earth script.
Their secrets reveal confounding aspects of how the inner self and the soul interact with the outer self and the world. The reason for secrecy is the meat of the play. Revealing would spoil. Society, along with religious precepts and long-held societal and family beliefs, all too often dictate what we do not say and what we do not do. Pretense takes the place of honesty, and honesty is often concealed by unwilling vulnerability. These unconventional and courtappointed confrontations reveal more and more of these vulnerabilities, taking Mr. Green, Ross, and the audience, deeper into the heart and mind of the matter, and deeper into the issues that humanity faces.
Bob, Cohen, a veteran MTC actor, and director gives us a convincing Mr.Green, subtle and real in the changes that occur within the character’s portrayal. MTC theatre-goers have come to expect that level of engagement from Bob. He does not disappoint. The character of Mr. Green underlines how elders generally like things to stay the same; change comes hard. Bob Cohan, in his role, gives us that notion in spades; along with some good laughs.
Gus Mayeno, acting since a youngster in school plays and MTC programs for youth, is nonetheless a newcomer to the professional stage. His years of practice paid off; not a nuance was missed in the portrayal of Russ Gardiner. His character offers a clear and thorough storyline of the difficult issues in this character’s life; sadly representing so many young people in today’s world.
Hmmm, we have a Mr. Green and a Gardiner. I cannot assume anything but purpose. For sure, Ross was carefully tending the garden of Mr. Green. I can