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Rating: Four
masks (Highly Recommended)
Review by Al
Bresloff, SteadstyleChicago.com
Redtwist Theatre presents Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mount Morgan
June 6-July 3, 2009
One of the exciting parts of the Chicago theater scene is the many
little storefront theaters in neighborhoods of the city where you might
not expect a theater to exist, let alone survive or grow. One of these
storefronts is Redtwist (formerly AWT), located on Bryn Mawr Avenue in
the Edgewater community, just west of Sheridan Road. The name Redtwist
is designed to project who they are and what they do: "white hot drama,
in a tiny black box with a little red twist," and this they do!
Their current production is a rarely done Arthur Miller play, "The Ride
Down Mount Morgan," written in the 1990's as an indictment of what the
people in our country had become: greedy, selfish and uncaring of
others. If one had money, they felt they can have whatever they wanted,
they had earned the right to have anything they desired, even if what
they wanted was illegal to have or own. In this case, our hero (or
might be he be the anti-hero) is Lyman
Felt, who as the play opens is in a hospital bed in Elmira New York,
after being in a car accident. Robert Dennison gives a powerful
portrayal. His wife and daughter have been contacted and are in
the waiting area in hopes that he comes to soon. At this point, it all
seems very simple and run of the mill, but as it turns out, there is
another wife and a nine year old son and now the fun begins.
Director Alex Levy
works the story with wonderful flashbacks allowing us to leave
the hospital room and learn just how Felt, a business giant who has one
of the largest insurance companies in the United States under his
control came to be in this setting under these conditions. Theo (deftly handled by Jan Ellen Graves
who truly makes one feel that she was the love of his life) is wife
number one and with her, a grown daughter (Susan Myburgh) who
upon hearing of the betrayal loses any feeling she had for her dad in
the days before.
Leah, the new wife
(a strong and energetic portrayal by Jaqueline Grandt) is also
in business with Lyman. The son never appears onstage. The other
characters in the story are Tom (John Arthur Lewis), the family
attorney and Nurse Logan (Michele Cason). The flashbacks take us to
different times and places. We get into the head of Lyman and see that
despite his claim that all is right with his world, it seems that he
does have some guilt. The question does arise as to the fateful
accident that brought us to this place. Was it an accident, or did
Lyman, knowing the terrain decide that he needed to bring all this to a
conclusion?
In most of the blackbox theaters, the stage is as small as the theater.
This is certainly the case at Redtwist, but Levy uses it well with the help of a very
simple set by Grant Sabin. Adding to the solid production is the sound
design by Christopher Kriz (with some clever music in the background)
and lighting by Christopher Burpee. We, the audience get to
watch these flashbacks take place with just a change of a shirt or a
curtain being pulled back and forth.
The stories we see and hear are very realistic and we are all faced
with the moral issues. Does Lyman love both of these wives with the
same intensity? Does each have a special place in his heart and
fulfill a special need that he cannot get from the other? While he
wants it all, and feels that he is entitled to being allowed to, the
times and laws do not allow for this and while he appears to have both
of these women convinced that he has only their best interest at heart,
we know that in the end it cannot be.
I myself had never seen a production of this play before and found it a
very intense piece
by a brilliant writer who surely cared about people and relationships.
Redtwist is one of the adventurous theaters that will tackle works like
this and as they grow their works get better and better. The shame is
that in a small black box theater, space is limited so only those lucky
enough to reserve their tickets right away get the opportunity to
experience the theater as presented by this strong troupe.
The show will continue through July 3, 2009 with performances Thursday,
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets range
from $22-$30, a value for a production this strong, and can be
purchased by calling 773-728-7529 or online at
www.redtwist.org/Tickets.html. The theater is located at 1044 W. Bryn
Mawr and while there is some metered parking in the area, with all the
meter stuff going on, you might just want to take the Red Line to Bryn
Mawr and walk the block. Stop at Starbucks and bring your beverage in
the theater. A lot of new restaurants are in the area as well.
Enjoy!!
Back to top
 Highly
Recommended
Tom Williams, chicagocritic.com
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2009
The Ride Down Mount Morgan
Directed by Alex Levy
Controversial
Miller 1990’s drama still resonates today
Redtwist Theatre is adept at mounting rare Arthur Miller plays (Broken Glass, The Last Yankee, The
American Clock, etc). Their
production of The Ride Down Mount
Morgan is another pleasant
surprise as director Alex Levy and his design team (Set Designer Grant
Sabin, Lighting designer Christopher Burpee and sound Designer
Christopher Kriz) combined to turn Redtwist’s intimate space into an
effective platform for Miller’s controversial drama. Ride is Miller’s answer to the
greed and excess of the Reagan Era (1980’s).
In Ride, Miller presents one
of his most complex characters–Lyman Felt (Robert Dennison)–a self-made
insurance millionaire. Lyman is brilliant, charming and quite
charismatic. He is also a devious, amoral, selfish, delusional liar who
convinces himself that his deceptions are truthful. For ten years
he juggles two wives–one Theodora (Jan Ellen Graves) his spouse of 30+
years and Leah (Jacqueline Grandt) his wife of 9 years.
When an auto accident leaves Lyman in serious condition in a hospital,
his false life style crumbles as both ‘wives’ meet when Mrs. Felt is
notified of the accident. Filled with
comic moments and high emotions, Ride becomes a most controversial
when we see that Lyman devoutly believing that he should be able to
have and keep both wives. He uses every trick in his charm chest to woo
Theodora and Leah back in his life. Only his daughter Bessie (Susan
Myburgh) is unforgiving.
Miller effectively presents Lyman’s rationalization that what he wants,
he should be able to get since the world seems to revolve around
his ego. Robert Dennison plays
Lyman’s ego, his charm, and his painful need to ‘have it all’ with
depth and honesty. Dennison deftly almost convinces us that he is
righteous. Lyman actually does not think he has done wrong since
he has made each woman happy.
Jan Ellen Graves and
Jacqueline Grandt nicely portray the women in Lyman’s life.
The show has emotional confrontations between the wives and Lyman
as the betrayal and selfish actions collide. The acting among these three is strong and
proficient.
Miller presents Lyman’s shades as overlaying degrees of veracity. Is he
the charming, yet evil narcissist or the struggling misunderstood man?
Miller presents Lyman in shades of gray. Dennison effectively shows all sides of
this complex man. This most engaging play will get you debating
the nature of love and betrayal long after you leave the theatre. Kudos to Redtwist Theatre for mounting this
rare gem. The cast did Miller’s problem play justice.
Back to top
 By Nina
Metz | Special to the Tribune | June 12, 2009
"The Ride Down Mount Morgan"
"...Jan Ellen Graves
gives Lyman's buttoned-up first wife unexpected shadings and depth --
she is more than meets the eye -- and Grant Sabin's set design (a
cacophony of white hospital curtains) boosts the production..."
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REDTWIST TAKES THE BAWDY RIDE DOWN MOUNT MORGAN
Reviewed by Ruth Smerling, TheatreWorld Internet Magazine
How do some people justify being selfish, doing things that could
deeply hurt the people they love? How do some people find the
permission to violate everything sacred to live the life they feel they
deserve? That question is too much for most of us, but Arthur Miller
tried to tackle it late in his career with The Ride Down Mount Morgan on stage
at Edgewater’s critically acclaimed Redtwist Theatre, directed by
Pegasus Players’ Alex Levy.
Robert Dennison has the role of a lifetime as Lyman Felt, a handsome,
wealthy man who gets whatever he wants out of life even if he has to
not only break the law, but cause extreme damage to everyone involved.
One morning everything comes crashing in on him as he wakes to find
himself unable to move, in the care of Nurse Logan (Michele Cason) in a
hospital in Elmira, NY. Of course the hospital contacts his next
of kin and two women answer to the call of Mrs Felt, Theodora (Jan
Ellen Graves), accompanied by her level headed daughter, Bessie (Susan
Myburgh) and Leah (Jacqueline Grandt).
They are both married to him. Each has a child with him and only
Theodora has legal claim to his assets, being the first one married.
This point is driven home as respectfully as possible by Lyman’s
lawyer, Tom (John Arthur Lewis). Each of the women are as different as
night and day. Jan Ellen Graves has
never been more powerful as Theodora, the rock in the marriage, a
person who could quote chapter and verse of an etiquette book. Though
elegantly dressed she comes to Lyman’s mind as playful, supportive and
devoted. Jacqueline Grandt compliments her performance humbly, as the
more dependent spouse, tossing her curls around and wondering what to
do. Even Leah looks to Theodora for support.
At times, the heavily sedated Lyman tries to reevaluate his
relationship, but never sides with one woman or the other. In his
dreams he only sees both of them worshipping him and granting his every
wish, together. He likes his double life and lack of commitment.
The women are just utilities to him, but he is their world.
The
Ride Down Mount Morgan is
teeming with heartache, laughter, love and even hatred. What
seems like a terrific comic situation is quickly bludgeoned as everyone
in the room faces the stark, hollow reality that the person they all
trusted and adored was really just an unstable freak who never had any
deep feelings or concern for any of them.
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The Ride Down Mount Morgan
Reviewed by Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader
Arthur Miller's minor-league, misogynistic 1991 play about unrepentant
bigamist Lyman Felt feels like a Bizarro-world version of Death of a
Salesman, with a Willy Loman who's financially successful and
apparently feels no old-world guilt about his life of lies and
infidelities. His wives--upright Theodora and hard-charging Leah--don't
know about the bigamy until Lyman's car accident brings them together...Jan Ellen Graves fills out Theodora's
wounded dignity and sorrowful wit magnificently.
Back to top
 By Barbara
Vitello | Daily Herald Columnist
Actors will go to great lengths to perform an Arthur Miller play.
Redtwist theatre's revival of Miller's "The Ride Down Mount Morgan"
suggests just how far.
Suburban actors Robert Dennison, Jacqueline Grandt and Jan Ellen Graves
travel all the way from Naperville, Arlington Heights and Skokie
(respectively) to a tiny storefront theater on Chicago's far North Side
to star in redtwist's production of Miller's infrequently staged 1991
play...
Miller's not-so-stinging indictment of selfishness and betrayal centers
around the patrician, Teflon-coated
Lyman Felt (Dennison), a late middle-aged, wildly successful and
endlessly self-absorbed insurance executive who has spent nearly a
decade juggling two wives.
Stoic Theodora (played by Graves with
her typical depth and dignity) is the minister's daughter to
whom Lyman has been married for 30 years. They share a Manhattan home,
an adult daughter Bessie (Susan
Myburgh) and a life of urbane sophistication. With the younger Leah (the feisty, vulnerable Grandt),
his mistress-turned-wife and mother of his 9-year-old son, Lyman lives
the life of a country gentleman outside Elmira, N.Y.
A near-fatal, high-speed crash near Elmira involving Lyman, his
Porsche, a snowstorm and a treacherous mountain road lands him in the
hospital. A well-meaning nurse (a
nicely wary Michèle Cason) summons Theo, who arrives with
Bessie and Tom (John Arthur Lewis),
Lyman's friend and lawyer. Theo and Leah's inadvertent meeting
in the waiting room exposes the lying man's double life and prompts
everyone involved to reconsider their relationship. Except for Lyman,
whose determination to live without fear and to remain true to himself
(regardless of the pain it causes other people) amounts to little more
than a justification for his own selfishness and infidelities. He
insists, in true scoundrel fashion, that he's given both women exactly
what they want...
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