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Student
Lab Production offers ‘Glimmer’ of hope
By Beth E. Concepción The words “student director” may strike fear into the hearts of theater fans, but fans need not be afraid when David Thigpen is at the helm. Thigpen, a senior media and performing arts major at the Savannah College of Art and Design, staged Warren Leight’s “Side Man” with fellow students as a Student Lab Production at the Mondanaro Theater Feb. 20-21. Except for a few bumps, the ride was as smooth as that of a seasoned pro. Clifford Glimmer is the narrator for “Side Man,” which is the journey into the past and present for the Glimmer family. Patriarch Gene Glimmer is a jazz session player who is trying to support his wife Terry and son Clifford in a dying medium. As support for jazz declines, so does his relationship with his family. Gene finds solace in the companionship of other musicians who are dealing with the same challenges. “Side Man” opened at Criterion Center Stage Right June 25, 1998, and went on to win a Tony Award for Best Play in 1999. Leight was nominated for a 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Thigpen certainly had his work cut out for him with the play’s timeline; “Side Man” switches back and forth between past and present, making it difficult at times for the audience to follow. The director seems to have spent most of his time with the acting end of the production, as that aspect really shines. Channeling Edith Bunker from “All in the Family” and Janice from “Friends” (with a little bit of Jennifer Coolidge from “Legally Blonde” thrown in for good measure), Ashleigh Ross was riveting as Terry. Parading around in a frumpy bathrobe, she was the epitome of the boozy, neglected, bitter wife, à la Martha in Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Ross perhaps played the part too well from the get-go; she started at such a high level that she had nowhere else to go. It remained unclear why Gene would marry such a shrew in the first place. Countering her larger-than-life persona was Leif Lynch as Gene, quietly simmering — disappointment and disillusionment festering in some place he refuses to access. Lynch showed a gravitas that made believable his role as father to Ted Evans, who played Clifford. Thigpen’s casting was perfect: There is the baby-faced resemblance between Evans and Lynch, and Lynch was able to age himself through gently stooping shoulders and his mannerisms. Speaking of aging, Ross Travis plays old better than anyone I’ve ever seen. As Ziggy, Glimmer’s friend and fellow musician, Travis popped off some of the play’s funniest lines, delivered in a “sufferin’ succotash” saliva-slinging lisp. John Keebler as Jonesy and Michael Lippert as Al rounded out Glimmer’s band of merry men quite well, each forming his own distinct character. They all could have done without the attempts at aging via makeup; their characterizations worked on their own. Jasmine Daniel turned what could have been the one-trick-pony of a part of Patsy the waitress/groupie into something worth watching. Last, but not least, Evans seemed perfectly at ease in the role of Clifford. He took what is essentially a group of monologues and made them into an earnest, honest conversation with the audience. The strength of the cast overcame the rinky-dink set — shoddy for a reason in some respects — and the rather unflattering lighting. Ultimately, “Side Man” was a journey worth taking, thanks to Thigpen’s direction and the commitment of his well-cast cast. |
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