Something Wild

Something Wild, as Hal Scott says in his opening declamation, is about decadence. Scott and his HDC'ers stay well within this theme--no difficult feat with Tennessee Williams--yet accomplished acting makes these three short plays represent more than decadence: each becomes, with skillful handling, an escape into freedom.

The most direct assertion of freedom appears in Auto de Fe, in which an asthmatic and, presumably, latent homosexual youth faces his intractable mother, who represents social conscience. Playing the young man, Eloi, Glenn Goldburg uses immobile arms to portray his constriction and an extravagant Southern accent to emphasize the wildness of his hysteria. His greatest asset, however, is an extremely expressive face which fully reveals his sensitivity and agitation. In contrast is his mother, who is played by Elaine Gordon with such great stolidity and waspishness that one strongly sympathizes with Eloi's escape, violent as it may be.

Talk to Me Like The Rain is a subtler, more lyrical play, but less effective, partially because there is no really dramatic clash of wills. A man (D.J. Sullivan), who is tired of being "pased around like a dirty postcard," comes home to his woman (Louise Bell), who is sick of waiting for him. They soliloquize, and go to bed. Given such a soporific plot, Sullivan, through some pretty astute nuzzling, still manages to keep the play on its feet. While Miss Bell is supposed to be delicate, she seems just a little too erect and graceful for the role.

The quiet lyricism of Talk to Me Like the Rain is shattered by 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, for dramatic interest the best play of the three. Jo Linch, as the battered wife of an unscrupulous cotton-ginner, gives by far her best performance in this community, displaying a remarkable gift for change of pace. Occasionally vivacious, Miss Linch reserves her moments of stupidity for the times when she is confronted by a stronger will. Only during a few seconds--while skipping blithely around the stage--does her characterization crack. Andre Gregory, as her seducer, is less successful, partially because he is smooth and sneaky at the beginning, instead of developing from pain (at the loss of his gin) to suspicion. Colgate Salsbury plays the crude, calculating husband with his usual energy, and a great deal of success. Although his Southern accent fluctuates enough to consider forgetting it entirely, rapid delivery expresses jarringly the hard personality which inhibits and crushes his wife. Like Miss Linch, Salsbury is expert at varying his pace; when serious, he is commanding, when humorous, shuffling and irresistably funny.

Obviously, despite the prevailing decadence, Something Wild offers a great deal of variety, both in theme and in tone. The costumes and sets are simple; but their starkness is the key to their effect. The jazzy musical background is usually effective. With the exception of a little mechanical following of blocking, the production is generally excellent. Each escape is impressive: with most of the old stand-by HDC'ers doing the escaping and Hal Scott aiding and abetting them, this little bundle of abnormality is well worth a trot over to Agassiz.