ARCHIVE REVIEW: The New Maine Times says "Beowulf Bedazzles"

Beowulf Bedazzles

By David Treadwell for the New Maine Times

The evening kicked off with a roaring sound, as if a lion lurked behind the curtain at the Parker Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle. And then came the sounds of music from a platform perched at stage right. Well, not exactly dulcet, Sounds of Music sounds. More like an impromptu bongo drum session, leavened by the strumming and plunking of stringed instruments, the likes of which you’d never seen before. And the play hadn’t even started yet.

I recently had the good fortune to attend a dress rehearsal for Heartwood Theater’s production of Beowulf, featuring an all-student cast: about 40 actors, musicians and technicians. The text for this play – or, more accurately, epic poem – was written over 1000 years ago. The story features kings, warriors and monsters; terrors, triumphs and tragedy.

But this version of Beowulf is really about what can happen when a talented director (Griff Braley, Heartwood’s artistic director) puts an immense challenge before a slew of student performers, some of whom had had little previous theatrical experience.

As the play unfolded, I was reminded of seeing a big flock of birds zigzagging around and, as if by magic, never colliding and wondering, “ How do they do that?”

A line would come from a student over here, no over there, no up there. The “star” was the cohesiveness of the whole troupe, not the performance of any single individual. The “co-star” was the blending of the varied musical sounds, both vocal and instrumental, with the words and actions of the actors. The extraordinary props – masks, puppets, swords – also deserve special mention.

From the haunting opening solo to the closing “boom” of a drum, the performance held the audience’s attention, no mean feat given that the audience consisted of a handful of onlookers -- and Griff Braley.

Because this was a dress rehearsal, some fine-tuning needed to be done. Occasionally, Griff would say, “faster” or “slower” or “louder” or “find your spot.” The actors never seemed thrown off by his directions. Having been under Braley’s demanding eye for seven weeks of rehearsals, they knew that excellence was expected, that every single actor and musician had to perform in unison with fellow performers for the play to succeed. Teamwork mattered.

This play is a must-see not just for those who love good theater but for everyone who derives joy from seeing young people give it their very best and exceed beyond all expectations. (NOTE: It would be helpful to read a summary of Beowulf before attending a performance.) Enjoy.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. November 4, 5, 11 and 12; at 7 p.m. Nov. 10; and at 3 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Parker Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, Maine. For reservations, call 563-1373 or email boxoffice@heartwoodtheater.org.