The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Winsome and warm, ‘Fireflies’ alights
Strong cast highlights show at Long Wharf
In his adaptation of Elizabeth von Arnim’s 1922 novel “The Enchanted April,” playwright Matthew Barber introduced Lotte Wilton to a vast audience eager to watch the dutiful, maritally oppressed protagonist find spiritual awakening.
In his new play “Fireflies,” premiering at Long Wharf Theatre through Nov. 5, Barber ushers another dutiful, lonely woman, Eleanor Bannister, before theatergoers who will root for her to find happiness in her tiny Texas town where the summer heat isn’t the only oppressive force smothering her soul.
“Fireflies,” which marks Jane Alexander’s return to Long Wharf as Eleanor, is, like “Enchanted April,” a charming, quiet love story where love sparks rejuvenation in the life of another strong woman slowly wasting on the vine. What’s most significantly different between Eleanor and Lotte is that the former is older, politely characterized as in her twilight years. And though “Fireflies” is yet lighter in heft than bantamweight “Enchanted April,” the play affords precious stage time to a strong, mature woman silently pining for love.
“Fireflies,” adapted from Annette Sanford’s 2003 novel, “Eleanor and Abel,” is a bit old-fashioned in construction and frugal with its surprises. Barber opens the play with Eleanor buffering herself from the steady stream of chat flowing from her next-door neighbor Grace (played by the invaluable Judith Ivey, speaking in her native Texas drawl) with domestic busy work in the kitchen, a large tomb of sorts, built by her beloved and much-missed father. Grace prattles on about Eleanor’s reticence in socializing, dishes about the locals and warns Eleanor about Abel Brown, a mysterious, if attractive, handyman of their vintage who travels light except for the voluminous intrigue that followed him when he recently blew into town. Don’t even think about renting your guest house to this suspicious, shady character, Grace entreats her friend.
The scene is markedly nondramatic, serving as exposition. However, Ivey, who could make an audience convulse with laughter simply reading from a spreadsheet, mines the material for all of its humor and charm.
The play instantly shifts into gear when Abel enters. Arndt, a blue-chip actor fresh from his triumph in Broadway’s “Heisenberg” last season, matches Alexander in subtlety, strength and charisma. Together they create a palpable tension, especially in their silences. Abel makes himself impossible to bounce because he’s got the tools in his truck to fix Eleanor’s neglected roof and he works for half what any other carpenter would charge. He’ll mow her lawn and repair all loose fittings before she can refuse him. Still, Eleanor can’t help but suspect that Abel isn’t playing the Good Samaritan just out of the goodness of his heart. Nobody this good can be true.
If theatergoers aren’t exactly on the edge of their seats wondering whether or not Eleanor will thaw in Abel’s heat, Alexander and Arndt hook them with their understated yet passionate performances. The manner in which these two pros play against the obvious makes for an extremely interesting performance.
Act II opens with Eugene (McFarland), the local gendarme, writing down Eleanor’s report of theft and fraud against you-knowwho. Her complaint describes
Abel blowing town with her cash and a broken promise to repair her house, but Eleanor’s scorn stems from Abel stealing her heart and leaving her amorously high and dry. Even if the audience sees the obvious metaphors (which abound not only in text, but also in Alexander Dodge’s set design), and the material matches the play’s initial scene in nondramatic expositional content, McFarland’s easygoing charm and Alexander’s quick burn bring it to life.
Leave it to Abel to notch up the tension upon his unexpected (but not really) return to the scene of his crime. Barber again clears the stage for Eleanor and Abel to hit or sit in their high-stakes hand of Texas Hold’em, and the room lights up with tense energy.
If the audience can guess the couple’s resolution without harsh deliberation, ’tis no matter. Alexander and Arndt render the scene freshly and truthfully by, again, playing against the expected.
Director Gordon Edelstein not only brings a wonderful cast to the production, but an accomplished design team as well, including Jess Goldstein (costume design), Philip Rosenberg (lighting design) and John Gromada (sound design).
“Fireflies” is a quiet love story not designed to set any rivers on fire, but rather to warm the cockles of your heart. It succeeds, thanks in large measure to its extremely winsome cast.