My Eye Sees Not So Far

Near the beginning of Joel Schwartz's play, three actresses are discussing their roles in a play in sneering negatives. One cuts in, "It has its moments." They were not talking about My Eye Sees Not So Far. Mr. Schwartz's play runs nearly three hours and nearly all of it taken up with those "moments." It is, in short, a wonderful play.

My Eye doesn't quite escape the trap of a slow beginning, but after the three girls perform their fable play within a play, the rest is pure velvet. Bro Uttal plays the part of Gideon, sophisticated man of the world, just returned from Oxford to talk with his former pedagogue. It seems to be one of those who-am-I jobs, despite the promising dialogue, until the scholar provides him with entertainment, a fantasy play in which three girls (Libby Frank, Mary Moss, and Jane Bullock) play the parts of a king, queen, and princess on an island of three inhabitants--the king, queen, and princess. The characters embodying the characteristics of Gideon's three lost loves, together with an inordinate consumption of champagne and brandy, propel him into a stream of conscious fantasy where he meets, examines, and relives the experiences which have left him in his present disillusioned state.

That such an idea can be put across credibly on the stage of Agassiz is remarkable; that such an idea can be put across so well is nothing short of miraculous. With imaginative settings, excellent and often brilliant dialogue, and a beautiful theatrical symmetry, much of the play's success is due to Joel Schwartz, who both wrote and directed it. But the acting is not only equal to the play itself, it often surpasses it. With the exception of Mark Liberman as Charles, the pedagogue, the cast plays its multiple parts (the lovers are the same royal family) with balance and professional instinct. I don't know whether Charles was intended to be played as he was but the effect was nevertheless unfortunate. Bro Uttal was thoroughly convincing in a demanding role and it would be impossible to say which of the girls was best. Not only did they make the fantasy the high point of the play, they also switched easily into the lovers' roles, and some minor characters besides. Mary Moss, as the Queen, was perhaps the most delightful character in the whole play, delivering her lines with an almost uncanny perfection of timing.