Theater Review: "Big Love" by the Department of Theatre Arts at WCSU

By Nancy Sasso Janis

Danbury - The Department of Theatre Arts at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) has launched a production of “Big Love.” Performances run this weekend and next weekend, with final performances on Sunday, Oct. 16.

The intense work is a modern re-making of one of the western world’s oldest plays,”The Danaids” by Aeschylus, written by Charles Mee. Dramaturg Dakota Jusem-LaPorte notes that the play is “reminiscent of the ancient Greek style of theater as it is deeply emotional and comments on current society.” The dramaturg also warns patrons of the play’s sense of disjointedness, “with abrupt changes in mood serving as the primary division between the scenes,” as well as its overall extreme tone.

Fifty brides are fleeing from arranged marriages to their fifty cousins in Greece and seek asylum with a powerful family in an extravagant villa on the coast of Italy. We see the grooms arrive by helicopter in their flight suits and mayhem ensues. While the brides and grooms wait for their wedding day, the characters raise issues of gender politics, love, and domestic violence.

There are pop songs and romantic dances that punctuate the big monologues in this slightly bizarre story, as well as women in white throwing themselves over and over again to the ground. Answers to questions become more complicated and rifts begin to form between the three sisters. When one of them recommends that they marry the men but then kill them immediately, her sisters have to decide whether to stick with the pack...or follow their hearts.

Professor Pam McDaniel directs the WCSU students and makes wonderful choices in the blocking of the performers, using the entire small but effective set to paint the visual pictures. New York based dancer, choreographer, educator and director Isaac Martin Lerner is the credited movement director.

The bride Thyona is the stereotype of the angry feminist who is betrothed to Constantine, the ultimate misogynist. Destiny Samuel, a senior Performance major from Brooklyn, masters the role of Thyona, with a powerful performance, and Elio Perez-Wilson, a sophomore from Deep River, does well as her loathsome betrothed.

Olympia, portrayed very well by the lovely Tori M. Lopez, a senior Theatre Performance major from Westchester, NY, is the bride who is the polar opposite of Thyona. Her character is the stereotype of the love-lorn woman who only wants a man to take care of her and she is betrothed to the not very bright Oed, who is played by Assef Badr, a WCSU junior from Syria based in Stratford.

Lydia is the bride who is sort of the middle ground between her two sisters. Abby Cunningham, a WCSU senior from Deep River, CT, plays the role with aplomb. Lydia is betrothed to Nikos, played convincingly by WCSU sophomore Jack Canevari. He is the groom who longs for a real connection with his bride.

Lorenzo Leite, a sophomore BA Performance major from Bethel, plays Piero, the owner of the Italian manor. The talented Alaina Dwyer is very strong in the role of Bella, an old woman who is the mother of Piero and twelve other sons. Dwyer, a senior from Orange, CT, memorably uses real tomatoes as props as her character announces what has become of her offspring.

Giuliano is the gay grandson of Bella and is brought to life by Kiernan Urso, a sophomore Performance major from Long Island. Wedding guests Leo and Eleanor, who provide a bit of comic relief, are played by senior BFA major Ethan Chan and senior Theatre Performance and Management major Rebecca Donaghy.

Bride and groom ensemble members include Dominic Cassarino, Alexandra Colaiacovo, Anna Raymond, Nicole Rivera, Sami Rosen and Donovan Shaw. All of the students in the ensemble serve as understudies for the leading roles.

Costumes designed by Joni Johns Lerner bear marks of the brides’ journey and are modern in tone. Sound design by Ben Warner, ranging from chirping birds to timpani, adds to the action and thoughtful lighting design by Daisy Long is ever changing and impressive. There are beautiful white paper mums hanging above the rectangular stage area, which has the audience seated on bleachers set up along its long ends, and a bathtub to one side of the stage.

“Big Love” is presented in the Studio Theatre at the Visual and Performing Arts Center at WCSU and continues through Oct.16. Be forewarned that the script contains mature themes, language and dialogue describing sexual violence. The play runs approximately 90 minutes without an intermission. (There is no latecomer seating and no re-entry is allowed.) The production features the use of strobe lights and haze. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/b...

Click here to watch the trailer of BIG LOVE.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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