show menu

Sonoma County Live Theater Review - Enchanted April - Sonoma Arts Live

“Who doesn’t love wisteria and sunshine?” Certainly not I, and

Elizabeth von Arnim’s 1922 novel spawned two film versions (1935 and 1991) and several stage adaptations including this one from 2003 by Matthew Barber. The plot centers on Lotty Wilton (here played by Katie Kelley), whose marriage has gone stale, leaving her without purpose or hope for the future. An especially rainy English winter finds her craving escape, a chance to break out of her dark mood. An ad for a month-long holiday on a villa in Italy sparks her imagination and becomes an imperative.

Lottie persuades her new friend Rose Arnott (Lyndsey Sivalingam) to join in the escape, and the two women then enlist two strangers who respond to their own ad for travel companions — young socialite Lady Caroline Bramble (Julianne Bradbury) and curmudgeonly dowager Mrs. Graves (Sheila Lichirie). The four women embark on their unlikely holiday, each with their own reasons for stealing away.

The villa’s owner, Anthony Wilding (Giovanni Amador), makes frequent appearances, and we get to know husbands Mellersh Wilton (Matthew Witthaus) and Frederick Arnott (J.T. Harper). Act one is all about the dream and the path to realizing it, and act two takes us to the villa and its recipe for rejuvenation. There’s an Italian housekeeper, Costanza (Laura J. Davies), who’s the cook and comic relief.

A period piece, the play nevertheless encourages reflection on priorities and keeping love alive. A sweet heart at its core transports us all, at least for an hour, to a place of healing.

The acting ensemble is somewhat uneven, but overall communicates well the mood and message of the script. Standouts include Sivalingam and Lichirie, both believable in their characters’ transformations. Kelley has to carry much of the play as Lotty, and is suitably effusive to lead the others in following her to Italy, although too animated in act one.

Carl Jordan’s scenic design delivers a wonderful Italian villa, and keeps the stage suitably bare for act one. His lighting also makes a lovely transition from rainy England to sunny Mediterranean. Costume design by Skipper Skeoch nicely captures period and class.

Quibbles: The persistent bowing in scene changes slows them down and is irrelevant. Furniture placement at the villa hinders movement and sightlines. Opening night suffered faulty lighting and distracting music cues — hopefully those are remedied for the run.

Enchanted April

By Matthew Barber

Presented by Sonoma Arts Live

Through February 9, 2020

Thu/Fri/Sat at 7:30pm, Sun at 2:00pm

Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center

276 E. Napa Street Sonoma, CA 95476 (707) 939-9018

https://sonomaartslive.org

Photos by Eric Chazankin

We've moved our commenting system to Disqus, a widely used community engagement tool that you may already be using on other websites. If you're a registered Disqus user, your account will work on the Gazette as well. If you'd like to sign up to comment, visit https://disqus.com/profile/signup/.
Show Comment