Asolo's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Feels Delightfully Fresh and Relevant in Galati's Hands
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Dennis Maley
Any season at the Asolo Repertory Theatre can usually be counted on to deliver a couple of edgy, progressive plays supported by well-honed productions of sturdy and reliable classics. It's a good formula that serves the company's target audience well. I have to admit that when I first looked at this season's schedule, the new stage adaptation of Stanley Kramer's 1967 film classic, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, would fall in the latter category–and a fine choice at that. However, in the capable hands of two-time Tony Award-winning director Frank Galati, we instead get a very fresh and relevant take on an old story.
A handsome, prestigious African-American doctor practicing in Hawaii meets a beautiful young, white woman from a liberal San Francisco family. They fall madly in love and plan to run away to Europe and marry, giving their respective families barely a moment's notice during which to give their blessings. The story takes place before the Supreme Court has even declared states' laws prohibiting interracial marriage to be unconstitutional. While neither family is outwardly bigoted or even principally opposed to the union, they fret both the danger and lack of normalcy their children are certain to face.
Todd Kreidler’s masterful stage adaptation breathes new life into a work of art that most audiences will only remember as it was burned into celluloid five decades ago featuring iconic stars like Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. As Galati noted, "The most profound and unique element in the play that distinguishes it from the medium of film is live performance. This may be 'then' but it's happening 'now'." As such, the play retains an ability to resonate in the way that the now-antiquated film may not.
Mark Jacoby and A.K. Murtadha. Photo by John Revisky
Half a century after the time in which the events are set, the play still manages to evoke emotion, even among those who are too young to have lived during the times depicted–myself included. Not only does it remind us how relatively young, and hence fragile, our cosmopolitan culture truly is, but it also doesn't take much imagination to conceive of slightly different religious and cultural schisms that still exist throughout the world today. What if the young man being brought home were Muslim, and the American girl was planning to elope abroad in even the most moderate Islamic country?
A.K. Murtadha, who is also currently starring as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Asolo’s critically-acclaimed production of All the Way, has even more room with which to demonstrate his considerable talent as the young doctor, John Prentice. Murtadha's understated intensity is the play's gravitational center and is present throughout his scenes with Broadway veteran Mark Jacoby, who plays the would-be father-in-law, Matt Drayton, a "liberal newspaper publisher" who finds himself at odds with the very things he finds himself fighting for in day to day life.
Photo by John Revisky
Asolo treasure Peggy Roeder is wonderful as his wife Christina Drayton, whileFSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training third-year student Ally Farzetta, who plays Iris Peabody in Asolo Rep’s current production of Living on Love, continues to distinguish herself as a young actress of note, turning in another poignant performance as their daughter, Joanna.
Asolo Rep veteran character actor Tyla Abercrumbie gives a wonderful performances as John's mother, Mary Prentice, while Ernest Perry, Jr. shakes the ground with intensity as John Prentice, Sr. While the movie was more of a comedy with a message–a device that was likely used to make it more palatable to the audience of the time–the stage play has more dramatic edges. Nonetheless, there are plenty of laughs thanks to the hilarious performances of William Dick as Monsignor Ryan, and Jacqueline Williams' as the Drayton family's maid, Tilly.
Peggy Roeder, Tyla Abercrumbie, and Ernest Perry, Jr. Photo by John Revisky
James Shuette's ambitious set, which consists solely of the Drayton family's house is warm and inviting, while Paul Miller's lighting goes a long way in opening up the single set throughout the play. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner runs in rotating rep in the Mertz Theatre, which is located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts through April 17. Visit the Asolo website for more information.
A.K. Murtadha and Ally Farzetta. Photo by John Revisky
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