One might have to be a sage of lunacy to willingly sit through a production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcardia, regardless of how strong some of the performances are, or how pretty the costumes, how exquisitely detailed some of the props are. It’s a curious choice for Greenbelt Arts Center to be producing this play, given the unforgiving and unapologetic chauvinistic male dominance in the character who hardly gets much of a comeuppance as he commandeers most of the script— at least in modern times— once his character is introduced. The play itself seems to be teaching the lesson that incensed writers incited duels against critics to avenge poor reviews. I have the unyielding urge to resurrect Tom Stoppard and incite a duel to avenge my sensibilities after being exposed to this dramatic circumlocution of esoteric banality.
While one certainly can’t fault the players for trying— and some of them do deliver impressive performances, perhaps the most impressive coming from the character who speaks not a word— Claire Fontaine as young Gus Coverly, whose reactive responses and general facial expressions are some of the most intricately formulated throughout the course of the evening’s stage traffic— there is something to be said for the play selection as a whole. While it does feature female leads, the play itself is a product of its time, feeling dated and out of sync with the world despite half of it taking place in ‘present day.’ Director Randy Barth also has some pacing issues. There is an overall lag, which cannot be pinned down to any one person or scene, where lines do not come clipping along with the pace needed to keep the interest of most modern audiences. Some of the dialogue exchanges need tightening as well, and while there are several bombastic and energetic moments of discovery, turmoil, and overall excitement sprinkled throughout the production, they don’t seem to land with any great consistency.
It’s a lovely set— designed by Dan Lavagna— and the scenery that populates it comes to the stage by way of Millie Tansill and George Tansill. Other than the moving of the great stone turtle (meant to be a living pet in the ‘modern day’ times) there is little to be done other than the characters moving in and out and some light changes (by way of lighting designer Jason Kanow) to shift time from 1809 to ‘present day’ as the location stays the same. Costumes, compiled and crafted by Megan Scott, are equally elegant for the 1809 time period, befitting of the high airs and social graces of the upper echelon. All around the show’s design elements— particularly Lynne Slater’s props— are impressive and give the audience something to admire when the show dribbles off into one of its many tangents.
There’s a cast of a dozen, with only one performer doubling up in both the present day and the 1809 side of the show (The aforementioned Claire Fontaine, who does have a handful of lines as the impudent and churlish Augustus Coverly, delivering them with aplomb and vigor.) Director Randy Barth does make brilliant use of the cast in the final scene where the timelines are running simultaneously; that magical effect, seeing people from 200+ prior sitting side by side modern day individuals as action is happening in both timelines is a remarkable feat and one of the places in the play where the pacing is delivered superbly. They key players of note in the ‘1809-era’ are Thomasina Coverly (Ani Arzoumanian) and Septimus Hodge (Daniel Dausman.) Everyone in this production attempts some form of British accent. Some are more successful than others, but Dausman and Arzoumanian’s are the most steady and consistent. Dausman uses a nasally, pinched vocal affectation to speak of his intelligence and position as a contemporary to Lord Byron and as Thomasina’s tutor. Their interplay, particularly when dickering back and forth about lessons and about the superior intellect that the Thomasina character possesses is rich and engaging, despite its infrequency— a fault of Stoppard’s alone. Dausman’s comedic timing and delivery is also quite sharp and well executed while Arzoumanian possesses a naturally felicitous curiosity and insistence when it comes to what she knows, what she hopes to know, and what she has known.
The four rotating presences of the present-day performers include Lauren Winther-Hansen as Hannah Jarvis, the somewhat reclusive and aloof researcher, Ashley Greeley as Chloey Coverly and Laura Fisher as Valentine Coverly— with Greely playing the dippy, sexed-up stereotype who fawns over men for the sake of fawning and Fisher playing the more level-headed, grounded, research-based of the sisters— and Brian Binney as the odious, peacock-strutting Bernard Nightengale. Binney has the least consistency with his attempt at a British accent but the most energy of the bunch, often times over-the-top in his moments of expression, though they fall in line with what Stoppard has penned.
Winther-Hansen is terribly good at delivering exasperated facial expressions, particularly when her character comes up against Binney’s character’s toxic masculinity. Both she and Laura Fisher have equal moments of surging passion that is delivered with believable conviction, each to the esoteric topics upon which they are pontificating. Similarly, though her character dominates the 1809 scenes, Ani Arzoumanian’s Thomasina is belching fire and brimstone when it comes to ‘how can we sleep for grief’ over Cleopatra going doolally over Anthony rather than sticking to her senses. Clearly these women have supercharged fires burning within them; Tom Stoppard’s incessant verbiage doesn’t always give them extraordinary avenues in which to express these sentiments.
Come with a deep love of fractals. Or obscure English literature and landscapes because those are the topics beat to death inside Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. There are solid performances, and there is a beautiful set and lovely costumes. But come prepared for a lengthy dive into slow-creeping action (it isn’t until well after intermission that the heart of the play is really brought to light…there’s a lot of intrinsic, languid brick-laying up to that point) divided over 200 years of time and space all in one centralized location.
Running Time: 3 hours and 5 minutes with one intermission
Arcadia plays through March 18, 2023 at Greenbelt Arts Center— 123 Centerway in downtown Greenbelt, MD. For tickets call the box office at 301-441-8770 or purchase them online.
Please note that masks are still required at all times by members of the audience inside Greenbelt Arts Center. No concessions are available for purchase at this time.
