Page 14 HIGH GEAR-FEBRUARY 1981

ENTERTAINMENT

Morgun Lund plays Prince Serpuhovsky, Sharon Bicknell plays Mathieu, his unfaithful mistress, and Willam Rhys, seen here in the background, plays Strider, the Prince's fleet-footed piebald gelding in STRIDER: THE STORY OF A HORSE, playing through March 14 at the Cleveland Play House Drury Theatre. See review.

PlayHouse Striding towards greatness

By R. Woodward

In case you have not heard yet, the big news in Cleveland Area live theater is the current burst of vigor and inventiveness at the Cleveland Play House.

During no season within the memory of any theater-goer now alive have so many regular Play House subscribers been so willing to completely forego their traditional opening night naps.

Play House productions have usually been expected to be safe rather than exciting, always competent and almost never overwhelming.

During the past few years things have been changing.

Along with the conscientious professionalism, audiences have been getting impressive displays of inventiveness and vigor. With several inspired and inspiring productions since the beginning of October, this season confirms the new dispensation.

The latest exciting example of what the new, born-again Play House is capable of is its production of Strider: The Story of a Horse, playing at the Drury Thea-

FEB. 8 FEB. 15 FEB. 22

MAR. 1

tre through March 14.

This play is an adaptation of "Kholstomer: the Story of a Horse," one of Leo Tolstoy's more devastating stories.

The story deals with what a piebald, gelding horse has observed of how horses and human beings generally mistreat each other, most individuals of either species, quite obviously lacking any proper sense of responsibility towards other living creatures.

Although far from having a monopoly on evil, the humans seem to be especially perverse, with a strange addiction to using the words "my" and "mine" in referring to most of what they come in contact with, as if any dead objects or living plants or animals have their basic natures changed by using such an adjective, and as if everything in the world were alike.

One of Strider's big shocks in the course of the play is hearing the rich, arrogant nobleman, who owns him, angrily using the word "my" to refer to his mistress who has just run off with someone else. (Strider, in his vanity.

thought that the word "my" was a special mark of favor which his unloving but strong, handsome, and influential owner gave only to a notable display animal like himself).

The play is set in Russia in the early 1860s (a few years before the serfs were emancipated), and in the midst of various gross and petty tyrannies, fashion rules supreme. At Strider's birth on a general's stud farm, it is generally agreed that he is a magnificent animal, in terms of being healthy, vigorous and having long, strong racing legs, but since it is not the current style among humans to be breeding or displaying a horse with piebald coloring, it is also agreed that with the first stirrings of Strider's mating urge he is to be gelded.

With his piebald coloring. Strider is also ostrasized as not being "one of us" by his fellow

horses.

being depressing, actually manages to be very exhilarating. Tolstoy, who is well served by playwright Mark Rozovsky, had the sort of solid, piercing intellect which could confront and dissect the worst evils of life without sinking into morbidness. Tolstoy's sharp bite always seems to put a strong, healthy stimulant into your system, rather than

venom.

There are few plays which you will ever have a chance to see performed, which manage to be so profound with so little straining after meaning and with so little pretentiousness. Strider has a great deal of humor, and none of it, whether cheerful or grim, ever strikes you as being even slightly affected.

Under the direction of Larry Tarrant, the actors get into the spirit of the material so completely that it is hard to imagine this play being better cast or better performed.

A musical play in which the title character is castrated in the Playing the title role. William first half and has his throat cut in Rhys gives the acting perforthe end, obviously has different mance which you can least thing on its mind than Fiddler on afford to miss of any performanthe Roof, but Strider, rather thances that will be seen on any

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Cleveland area stage this year.

Besides being extremely moving, Rhys's performance is also an unforgettable example of how much emotional persuasiveness can be achieved by a certain kind of non-realistic acting within a certain kind of non-realistic production.

tiny legs give way and spread out in all directions, obviously not having been made aware yet that harm exists. Rhys achieves a poignancy so intense that in thinking about this scene hours, days or even weeks afterwards, you may find yourself unable to stop your tears from flowing.

Playing Prince Serpuhovsky, the flashing parasite who owns Strider during his days of glory, Morgan Lund firmly grasps and realizes perfectly Tolstoy's approach to depicting such a character. Tolstoy's approach is to clearly show a character as representing some notable evil, making sure that the character is so solid and detailed that no one

can have the comfort of dismissing him as being merely an author's abstraction. Whether showing the character as a calious, reckless young man or as a wasted old man, Lund plays with a concreteness and an undeniable physical presence that Tolstoy would have cheered.

Very easy to take is the symbo!ism of casting Sharon Bicknell both as the nobleman's unfaithful mistress and as a filly, attentions towards whom have gotten Strider gelded, and also easy to take is the casting of Wayne S. Turney as the officer who lures the mistress away and as a strutting pony.

In Strider Bicknell reaffirms her status as great favorite Rhys's impressive control over among those playgoers who his mobile face and well trained prefer plain meaning and solid body seems to be equalled only substance in acting to extravaby the soundness of his judggance and flash. Give Bicknell ment in using this control, as he whatever minimum of directional acts Strider's various strong, assistance any professional elemental emotions and indiactor has a right to expect and cates how a horse moves at difshe will give you an emotional ferent ages in different situations. credibility in her acting which is He manages his movements very deep-rooted. and gestures with a directness How big a contribution is being that conveys to the audience made by acting as unassuming what is obviously his complete as hers can easily go unnoticed. trust in the role. Seldom has and it seems only just to point out being deeply moved seemed like that at least one major reason such an honest response to such why seeing actors play horses an honest performance. does not seem gimmicky at all in One scene sure to be long this production is that her porremembered is Rhys's showing trayal of a horse is unaffected and Strider as a new born colt, standstrikes you as being inevitable. ing already but not yet sure of In Turney's acting, by contrast, how to use his legs. We know that extravagance and flash are not Strider will soon be a gelding and only there, but impossible to we know how he will be treated miss. Turney depicts a pampered when he becomes old and feeble. pony named Darling who likes to Rhys mimes Strider newborn, show off. Here extravagance and confused but undismayed, as his (Continued on Page 15)