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My Favorite Curmudgeon
Winning performances and excellent staging
rescue "Visiting Mr. Green" from contrived premise.
AUDREY BECKER
Special to the Jewish News
isiting Mr. Green is one of
the most well-intentioned
plays I've ever seen.
Playwright Jeff Baron's two-
character drama tries so earnestly to be
heartwarming, it makes a critic feel
almost guilty finding fault. But in
spite of having his heart — and his
politics — in the right place, Baron's
first full-length play falters.
Nevertheless, the Jewish
Ensemble Theatre has taken
an inconsistent script and
fashioned — under the expe-
rienced hand of Director Yolanda
Fleischer — an admirable production
with excellent staging and winning
performances.
In Visiting Mr. Green, 29-year-old
Ross Gardiner (Timothy McKernan)
has narrowly avoided hitting 86-year-
old pedestrian Green (Arthur Beer)
with his car. The action of the play
begins when Gardiner knocks on the
door of Mr. Green, a slow-ambling
recluse and recent widower. Much to
the consternation of the curmudgeonly
Green, a creative judge has sentenced
Gardiner to pay weekly visits to the old
man as penance for his reckless driving.
Imagine, if you will, a court-ordered
Tuesdays With Morrie. It's a premise
that's more than a bit contrived.
Instead of being an unlikely sen-
tence for Gardiner, it seems more like
an unfair punishment for Green, who,
in his isolation, has no desire for out-
side visitors.
The plot device simply strains
credulity. It's curiously similar to that
Seinfeld episode in which Jerry and
George invent a premise for their pilot
sitcom: A whimsical judge sentences a
man to be Jerry's butler.
Yes, the initial set-up is shaky. But,
despite the contrivance, the play soon
moves into more interesting material
as the aged Jewish widower and the
young, energetic American Express
executive learn hidden truths about
each other.
The first comes when Gardiner, who
doesn't appear to know much about
Judaism, reveals that he, too, is Jewish.
Green is confounded by Gardiner's
lack of self-knowledge.
But Gardiner has other, more sur-
prising, revelations to make about his
identity. We learn that, for different
reasons, each man is alienated from his
family. And both Gardiner and Green
must confront the painful stories that
have kept them from living full and
loving lives.
It is a true credit to the talents of
both Beer and McKernan that they are
able to make somewhat basic charac-
ters appear fully rounded, subtle and
complex. The performances are
impressively nuanced and engag-
ing: Both actors are vibrant
and compelling in their parts.
Arthur Beer — whose day
job is associate director of the
University of Detroit Mercy Theatre
Company — commands the stage
beautifully as the stubbornly patriar-
chal Mr. Green. With eloquent
silences and depth of experience, Beer
brings a Lear-like presence to the
crusty old character, endowing him
with a profound sadness.
McKernan's Gardiner makes an
appealing and effective counterpart to
Beer's Mr. Green. A graduate of the
University of Detroit Mercy Theatre
company, the younger actor has taken
Gardiner, loosely based on author
Baron, and crafted a character that is
as well meaning and eager-to-please as
the playwright himself.
Once again, Monika Essen's set
design deserves applause. From the dirt
splatters on the bottom of the refriger-
ator to the dry and dirty old wallpaper
that seems to weep for its inhabitant,
Essen's scenery indicates her skillful
attention to detail. Note especially the
bottle of dishwashing detergent that
ironically proclaims, "Joy."
Ultimately, JET's current produc-
tion of Visiting Mr. Green suffers only
from the weakneises of the script. But
with the strength of the direction,
design and performances, the audience
will certainly cherish this visit. ❑
JET's production of Visiting Mr.
Green runs through Jan. 5 at the
Aaron DeRoy Theatre, located in
the Jewish Community Center in
West Bloomfield. For more infor-
mation or to purchase tickets,
call (248) 788-2900.
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