Brown fires on all on all burners as Aurora’s neighbor/erstwhile lover, the former astronaut Garrett Breedlove, (Lord, the male characters in this story are all assholes!) and he gives Leeper’s Aurora an active and motivated stage sparring partner. Derek Mesford as Flap looks the part but stronger direction of this character and development of his role (Flap was tellingly also left offstage in the initial UK draft). She has strong chemistry with Ana Bury-Quinn, quite lovable as her benighted daughter Emma. Bury-Quinn is hampered by having only Aurora and hapless dullard college associate professor “Flap” Horton to really play off of, since the adaptation limits her BFF Patsy Clark (gamely portrayed in fleeting moments by Danielle Locken) to a few short scenes, while Emma’s three children (so important to her and Aurora in the story) and her inter-marital affair with a sweet but also married banker are reduced to offstage mentions. (Leeper is also a fab singer and anchored a solid production of GYPSY as one of the top 3 Madame Rose’s I have ever seen). York, also Tech Director at this recently and tastefully renovated theatre, has cast most of his leads well, though his staging of this script, which has a lot of fade-out/fade-in’s belying its filmic origins, is rather inconsistent and after a week of performances too many lighting cues were late or clumsy, with visuals of photos and outdoor locations sometimes being too muddled and dark.Īs Aurora Greenway, the meddling Mama of this 3-decade long saga, Stephanie Leeper is not a copy of any prior Aurora or even Carol Burnett whom Leeper brings favorably to mind. Streamlined to only use 6 actors (two of whom double as several subsidiary characters) in a bothersome one-set format, TLT might have been better off doing this much loved material as a live staged reading.ĭirector Blake R. Brooks who wrote and directed the 5 time Oscar winning1983 film which won star Shirley MacLaine her long overdue Oscar. The play was obviously designed with an eye on the budget with a star-lady headliner to rake in bucks (initially done as a West-End/UK tour with DALLAS star Linda Gray and revised for off-Broadway where starring an ill-suited Molly Ringwald in 2016). The fact of the matter is, that this TERMS OF ENDEARMENT in Dan Gordon’s stage adaptation is at best a CliffsNotes version of Larry McMurtry’s 1975 Pulitzer Prize winning novel. On one hand I am so happy to applaud Tacoma Little Theatre’s return to live theatre (and its vital hard-stance on masks and immunization proof being required upon entry) that I hoped this review could be an unconditional love letter. Now through Septemat Tacoma Little Theatre in Tacoma. Brown as Garrett, Derek Mesford as Flap, Danielle Locken as Patsy Clark/Doris/Nurse, Jay Lurvey as Doctor Maise. With Stephanie Leeper as Aurora, Anastazja Bury-Quinn as Emma, Scott C. Photo: Dennis K Photography Review: TERMS OF ENDEARMENT adapted by Dan Gordon based on the novel by Larry McMurtry and the screenplay by James L. Pass Over from Stage Left Theater, Spokane, WAġ0:00pm Afterglow Celebration at Red Star Taco Bar $20.00ġ0:00am Awards Brunch at LaQuinta Cedar Room, 1425 E 27th St, Tacoma, WA 98421 $20.Stephanie Leeper as Aurora Greenway and Ana Bury-Quinn as Emma Greenway in Tacoma Little Theatre’s production of TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, onstage through September 26, 2021. When Jack Met Jill from Bellingham Theatre Guild, Bellingham, WA Skin Deep from Jewel Box Theatre, Poulsbo, WAġ0:00pm Afterglow Celebration at Tacoma Little Theatreġ2 Incompetent Jurors from Stage West Theatre Community Theatre, Ocean Shores, WA Tickets and festival passes ($8-$30) here. The WSCTA Kaleidoscope Festival is the first step of the American Association of Community Theatre AACTFest, which will bring 12 companies from across the United States to showcase their productions in Louisville, KY.
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