Reviewer: Reg
Date: August 1, 2005 03:52 GMT

I caught Dana's performance in Rapture on Friday, July 22, but I won't presume to provide a review, when Doug did a great job of that already. But I'd like to note that after the show, I got to meet Dana. She was so nice, we had a great chat, and she gave me more of her time than I expected considering so many others wanted to talk to her too.

The following week I saw Defiance on Saturday, July 30, at The Powerhouse Theater (also at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY). Doug didn't make it to that show, so I'll try to provide a basic overview. Rapture was performed as a strict reading, from behind music stands in stationary positions. Defiance was acted out a bit more. Still no sets or props, just a few chairs. But the actors made entrances and exits, and pretended to have props, all while carrying their scripts with them. The story was generally about a U.S. Marine Colonel (Chris Cooper sounding a bit like R. Lee Ermey) in the early 1970's, a few years from retirement, trying to address racial bias with the help of a black Captain (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) who prefers not to have race be an issue in his career. One of the best lines is Dana's (playing the Colonel's wife) to Cooper: "You're trying to matter, while he's trying to not matter". A scandal then occurs that threatens to destroy these three main characters. The screenplay is a collection of very considered exchanges, almost poetic, that cover quite a few issues from that period when Vietnam was coming to a close, and just before the draft ended. The play's end was a bit abrupt, with Dana delivering an emotional last line. Her performance was so effective she was still wiping her eyes during the bows.

The entire cast did a great job with this interesting play that was sometimes funny and often passionate.

I got to speak with Dana for a few minutes again after the show, and she graciously introduced me to Susan Rice (who wrote For Hope !), who was also fun to talk to. I had a camera and some programs, but the atmosphere at these shows is so casual it didn't seem appropriate to ask for autographs or photos.

But I have the programs, and an audience member was amazingly kind enough to give me her Poughkeepsie Journal which has an article about Defiance that mainly talks about Chris Cooper.

And New York Stage and Film has very kindly supplied some great photos from the performance.

All in all, an incredible couple of weeks. Thanks Dana!