Saturday, January 19, 2008

"Cover of Life" complex, good show

By Katie Libecco

NILES – There's one more weekend to catch "The Cover of Life" at Trumbull New Theater.

The show tells the story of the Cliffert family during World War II, which has enlisted three sons. The newly wedded wives of the soldiers move into their mother-in-law's house together. Tension among the girls is illustrated when Life Magazine takes interest in doing a story on the family.

The show is geared for those with a solid attention span, running at just under three hours for a straight play, with a 15-minute intermission. Directed by Lisa J. Bennett, it also relies heavily on letters read as monologues.

The drama features great performances by young area actors. Most notable of these is Maria Wright as Tood, a role which involves a woman going through dynamic changes in life.

She's countered by Barb Timmins as Kate, the New York City reporter sent to the small Louisiana town where the Collins family lives. Timmins is a perfect casting decision, playing the dynamic character with a steely grace.

But all of the parts are complex and involved, especially that of Aunt Ola, the mother-in-law who houses the girls while her skirt-chasing husband"is dying in the hospital. The complicated character is played by JoAnn Winterbauer with a subtle brilliance onstage.

Stephanie DeChant is outrightly beautiful as the show's sex kitten, Sybil DeChant, and graces the stage as a brought-to-life Vargas girl. The other wife, Weetsie, is played by Maureen Sweet, a student at Warren G. Harding High School.

The only husband who actually appears in the show is Tood’s Tommy, played by LaBrae High School student Nathan Fenstermaker. He's brought to life mostly through Tood's daydreams. Fenstermaker plays the young sailor very naturally, even when the part becomes much more complicated.

And certainly worthy of mention is Micky Burnsworth as local reporter Addie Mae. "The Cover of Life" depends almost solely on Addie Mae for comedic relief from the dark plot. The TNT regular is spot-on in her character and delivery throughout the production.

Overall, "The Cover of Life" is a great story about hope and dealing with interpersonal relationships in tragic times.

But a word of warning for playgoers: The show is lengthy and relies on monologues delivered with Southern accents and are filled with dramatic pauses. "The Cover of Life" doesn't follow a standard theater format building to a grand resolution, instead think of it as an observation or study in human behavior.