'Beast On The Moon' PHOTO BY RICHARD TOPPER S mance like the name- sake theater: a rose un- folding, blooming and revealing colors and fra- grance. Her husband — the Beast on the Moon, stoic, grief-driven Aram which just opened at the — is played well by Purple Rose Theatre in Danny Jacobs. Jacobs wholesome Chelsea. can be gruff, then kind, At first, you think, a embracing opposites so naturally we may for- domestic drama of the near-past — the early get he's acting. (Neither part of the 20th centu- he nor Fido are consis- ry. A picture bride tent with each other or named Seta comes to throughout the show in their accents, however. Milwaukee to be with her married-by-proxy Does it matter? Only a husband, Aram. They bit.) are Armenian; she is a As the narrator, Pe- girl of 14, he a man in ter Bellanca is natural his 20s, and life togeth- and unforced; the young boy, Vincent, is er is a series of adjust- ments. played by Anthony Caselli in a spirited, en- Soon, though, anoth- ergetic way. Perhaps er theme is glimpsed his youthful enthusi- just over your shoulder, asm seems a bit like as we hear the details of nervousness, just a Seta's life as a refugee, shade too buoyant; then her orphaning at the again he also finds the hands of Turks who turned on their Christ- truth in his big scene, so why quibble? ian neighbors in a jihad, The production team or holy war. Some of Beata Fido and Danny Jacobs portray Armenian immigrants who this we learn from a try to start a new life together in America in Beast on the Moon, has let no one down: an excellent set and light gentleman narrator running at the Purple Rose Theatre through March 10. design by Francesca who, very early on, tells is a survivor, too, as is his wife. Callow, graceful period-like cos- us he is a witness, as we become. And until they both weep for the When the domestic tension es- dead, they cannot replace them, tumes by Edith Leavis Bookstein. Overall, director Suzi Regan has calates because Aram desperate- cannot move on. understood the play and helped ly wants a family and Seta comes At the end of Beast on the up empty (and goes from disobe- Moon a family has been created it and the actors find the right ki- dient young girl to strong-willed and a small domestic tragedy has netic tone — the mimed sexual pairing of the newlyweds, for ex- woman), the pauses become been averted. Some heal- ample, is a beautiful piece of the- pregnant as we seek rec- ing has begun. We, and ater. onciliation. Then, final- THEATER they, are reconciled to our And finally, Regan seems to ly, Aram tells us the truth tragedies. know what the playwright, about his family heirlooms In this strong piece of theatri- — the coat, the family photograph cal writing, the Purple Rose has Richard Kalinoski, was feeling as with the cutout heads and his ter- found equivalent talents in actors. he wrote and helped put it on the stage. Oh, yes, it may also be a rible humiliation. First, there is Beata Fido as Seta, Survivor guilt is universal. the picture bride. Gawky and be- memory play, one of those rare This is not news to many Jews, mused and juvenile as a 14-year- birds that infrequently fly in the some of whose ambivalence about old in her early scenes, she theater. 1/2 surviving the Holocaust has pro- becomes willful as a young duced learned papers, treatment woman, then strong as a wife and —Michael H. Margolin groups and guilt. Aram Tomasian surrogate mother. It is a perfor- ometimes a play creeps up on you, catches you un- aware and you find yourself infatuated. Such is the case with Visit Our Facilities And See What All We Have To Offer!! 30555 Grand River Farmington Hills 810•478•2010 %111////////1/MWW1 1 I1 11/, MARY WELCH BRINGS VEGAS To An evening of guitars, sax and more featuring: 1 1 1 1 6 Foster di A 1 1 Brooks 1 The Bartenders Choice February 11, 12, 13 8:30 p.m. Tickets $30/per person Kirk Whalum Peter White Mark Antoine Rick Braun Saturday Feb. 17 2 shows Doors: 6 & 9:30pm Advance Tickets: $30.00 DAVID BROZA Fri. 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As such, its attraction is ilEMM) to bring this love fest about, first by taking on as much historical as Sylvia. "She has a dramatic. Only recently have Marivaux's plays been re- heart...all I need is to bring her discovered, so there is a cachet to down to where women live." Wendy Gough, as Flaminia, this enterprise as well. The Double Infidelity centers holds this banal plot together with the glue of her handsome presence and bearing. She also knows how to invest a line of di- alogue with a wink, a nod, a moue in her voice or movement. It is a charming performance. Charm is what one wants — since from the get-go we know that romance will have its way and Flaminia her day. The promise of charm is evident when, upon entering the theater from that shallow tunnel, one cY -\