One-act play about new South Africa earnest, yet uncompelling
By Ricardo Baca
The Metropolitan
Who knew a handful of pumpkin seeds could signify so much?
When you live in South Africaās desertlike Karoo, they stand for a way of life. Many farmers rely on their crops to support them throughout the year.
This is the setting for Athol Fugardās most recent play, Valley Song. Fugard wraps a timeless story with genuine dialogue and the product is ... nice.
Yes, thatās all, nice.
At times the songs were captivating and the dialogue was clever, but the show lacked intriguing flair and never successfully reeled the audience in.
For a one-act ÷ especially ÷ people shouldnāt be fidgeting in their seats, yawning uncontrollably for the entire 90 minutes. To some it seemed like an eternity; to me it seemed like it
could have been done in an hour ÷ with more preservatives added.
The story is about Buks, a man of mixed race, and his granddaughter, Veronica. They lead a simple life. Every day, she brings him lunch out on the acres that he tends to. She fixes dinner so itās ready when he gets home. They are both content in their simplicity ÷ almost.
Every night after Buks falls asleep, Veronica sneaks over to a neighborās window to watch famous singers on TV from outside.
She has a beautiful voice herself, and she wants to get out of the valley to use it and gain eternal fame.
A white man, the Author, learns of her ambitions, challenges her to do it and narrates the story for the audience. But Buks is against her leaving. He fears that Veronica would end up dead, just as her mother did after going to the city.
If thereās one thing to expect from the Denver Center Theatre Company, itās consistency. The production end of this performance was beautiful.
The scenic design was full of grit as the designers took a sand-in-the-crotch kind of approach to the set. The naturalesque lighting complimented the earthy colored set nicely, too.
Tony Church, who plays both Buks and the Author, did a great job, switching from character to character and accent to accent flawlessly. His elongated Donald Sutherland-type face carried both of his characters to great lengths, and he also added his own distinctive characteristics like Buksā hand twitch.
Terrilynn Towns was also wonderful. Her characterās in-your-face attitude was well played out, and her singing voice sounded famous ÷ surprising for a non-musical show.
But they werenāt enough to carry the show to a level the script will never see.
Thatās why artistic directors should be careful when they pick a season. Somehow, one or two sleepers always end up anchoring a season.
Fugard, a great author in any respect, was able to capture a few good theatrical moments, but his follow-ups were messy and usually spoiled the entire scene.
A former journalist, he wrote a lot of stories and plays about apartheid in South Africa, but his two most recent plays, Valley Song and My Children! My Africa!, are set in post-apartheid South Africa.
To his and the showās disadvantage, the play is opening the Denver Performing Arts Complexās newly renovated Source Theatre ÷ their most intimate stage. Performances could go a little long for the actors if all they see around them are yawning faces.
