October 17, 2018
The Night of the Iguana
Joe Siegel READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The Gamm Theater has kicked off their new season in Warwick with a gripping, masterful production of Tennessee Williams' classic "The Night of The Iguana."
Williams liked to focus on human desperation in his plays and "Iguana" features a colorful group of characters searching for salvation.
The Reverend Lawrence Shannon has been exiled from his Texas parish after being charged with statutory rape and blasphemy. Now drinking heavily, he spends his days leading bus tours filled with female tourists in Mexico.
Shannon takes refuge at a rundown hotel managed by his friend, the tough-talking Maxine (Deb Martin), who is recently widowed. Maxine, a lonely woman with an insatiable sexual appetite, attempts to seduce Shannon. She is one of the most interesting characters in this decadent world and Martin is always riveting to watch.
The other guests include the Fahrenkopfs (Maria Day and Brandon Whitehead), a pair of eccentrics who are Nazi sympathizers, the elderly poet Nonno (nicely played by Sam Babbitt), and his granddaughter Hannah, who makes a living by sketching watercolor portraits of tourists.
"The Night of The Iguana" focuses heavily on Shannon and Hannah, who seem to be kindred spirits. Hannah learns to care for this self-pitying and emotionally ruined man, who seems bent on destroying himself.
Hannah, a spinster, leads a miserable existence chaperoning Nonno from place to place. She has nothing else in her life and finds some solace in caring for Shannon.
Tony Estrella has a delicate balancing act, portraying Shannon as a libidinous charmer with a sensitive side. It's a highly nuanced performance. We don't know whether to love Shannon or despise him. At times, the disgraced holy man acts like a cheerful rogue as he plops onto a hammock and swings a bottle of booze around.
In one chilling moment, Shannon jokes that the girl he is accused of raping came on to him. Underneath all his pretensions is an unrepentant pedophile.
Jeanine Kane brings a lot of warmth and vulnerability to Hannah. Kane and Estrella are simply magic together. These two actors obviously have tremendous respect for each other and when they are alone on stage for a long period of time, it's theatrical perfection.
Michelle Walker is a fiery and impassioned Miss Fellowes, one of the women in Shannon's tour group. Walker enlivens every scene she's in by sheer force of personality.
This is an exceptionally good-looking show, as befitting a Gamm production.
Patrick Lynch's magnificent set design creates a sense of hedonism and moral decay. With its tropical appearance the Costa Verde hotel doubles as a sanctuary and a prison for Shannon and Hannah.
The period costumes by Jessie Darrell Jarbadan and Jeff Adelberg's atmospheric lighting design are also first-rate.
I admire the passion and skill director Fred Sullivan ("Arcadia") has brought to this production. Sullivan knows how to engage an audience with vibrant storytelling.
Even though this is a dark and often depressing story, it's worth a trip just to see the Gamm's excellent acting ensemble and technicians working at the top of their craft.
"The Night of The Iguana" runs through November 4. The Gamm Theatre. 1245 Jefferson Blvd. Warwick. For tickets, go to www.gammtheatre.org or call 401-723-4266.
Joe Siegel has written for a number of other GLBT publications, including In newsweekly and Options.