Playwrights Local says of itself, we are “dedicated to supporting the dramatists of Northeast Ohio. As a playwrights’ development and production center we foster diverse talents and present locally written works.” They have done this with excellent results as evidenced by the number of Cleveland Critics Circle and Broadwayworld-Cleveland award recognitions.
After several years of hiatus caused by the Covid pandemic, the company is back, staging Tom Hayes’ Millwood Outpost.
The tale tells that “Confined on a stormy day, six highway workers are forced to share one room in an abandoned Department of Transportation outpost. Over the course of several hours, the men must confront their own fears, prejudices, and beliefs, and those of each other, while elemental forces outside threaten them all.”
Director Rachel Zake says of the script: “I love how Tom combined realism and mysticism. Particularly the idea of the storm bearing down and creating a haunting background for the mounting tensions between the characters stood out to me.”
She continues, “The emotions are striking and the conflict is relatable, even for those who aren’t ODOT workers. The struggle between old and new, tradition and progress, is one that is familiar. But we don’t usually see it up close in a pressure cooker situation, provoked by a mysterious fog. As the audience has the privilege of sitting up close to the action, I think they will feel immediately drawn in by the characters and their journeys.”
I wish I could agree with the director. Unfortunately, I can not.
While the last 10 minutes of the play are compelling, the other 70 minutes are slow-moving, rambling, seemingly going nowhere. Then — bang! The real issues are thrown out, tension results, and the playwright’s purpose is exposed, but not fully developed.
Where does the problem lie?
Maybe the writer needs to find a way to more quickly get the issues of white male fear of losing their traditional roles in society, concern over women entering the workplace, strongly felt homophobia and anti-Semitism, the differences in the beliefs of the young and educated versus their less schooled elders. Interestingly, these are the same issues which have stimulated the allegiance to Donald Trump and his fellow hate-spewers. Maybe this is the hook needed to develop the play’s message.
Maybe the director and some of the cast members needed to realize that there are ways of expressing angst without screaming. Once an actor has screamed, he has used up the emotion and has no place to go to express his frustrations, fears and hatred. Underplaying rather than overplaying has its place if the playwright has given the actor the words to express those feelings.
Questions abound in the script and production: What was the real purpose of the bra stuffed into the chair? Why was the accused homosexual young man stripped of his shirt? How does a person get drunk on three or four small drinks of wine and why is this even included? Why was a bright light shining through the window outside if there was a raging storm and all-encompassing fog? Why were there no sounds of rain pounding the windows? Why were people coming in from a storm wearing dry clothing and showing no effects of the rain? Why were the physical confrontations so unrealistic? Why the mention of Manischewitz kosher wine when the bottle of liquid being used is not that brand? Why were mentions made of issues, but the issues themselves not developed?
The ending leaves many issues hanging and was so sudden that the audience wasn’t aware that the play was over until the lights came up with the cast lined up for the curtain call.
As to the acting, congrats to Zach Palumbo (Nick) and August Scarpelli (Moon) for developing real and accessible characters.
Capsule Judgment: Millwood Outpost is a new script getting its first staged production. It obviously needs work, from the writing to the staging. The author and director would be wise to use this experience and make changes which would help the important message of the play come out more effectively.
Millwood Outpost will be performed Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm and Sundays @ 2:30pm through April 2 at the Creative Space at Waterloo Arts. Get tickets here.