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| The cast of "The Age of Innocence." All photos by T. Charles Erickson |
There was
nothing really innocent about what Edith Wharton labeled “The Age of
Innocence,” it was just that human frailties and foibles, at least for a
certain class that lived below 23rd Street in the New York of the
latter part of the nineteenth century, kept the flaunting of the Ten
Commandments wrapped in damask and silk…and silence. In this world premiere of
an adaptation by Douglas McGrath of the Wharton novel, produced in association
with The McCarter Theatre Center, the damask and silk are in abundance and the
society Wharton so deftly captured in her novel is on full display for all to
see.
McGrath has
decided to handle the adaptation as a memory play, with The Old Gentleman (Boyd
Gaines) providing the memories. It’s a smart move, for although the first third
of this one-act play, directed by Doug Hughes, seems to drag a bit, there’s
really no other way, at least on the stage, to provide the exposition necessary
to understand the setting, introduce the primary characters and establish the
milieu that they inhabit.
Besides
critiquing (and sometimes pillorying) the upper crust of New York society,
Wharton’s main focus was on a delicate love triangle that involves May (Helen
Cespedes), her suitor, Newland (Andrew Veenstra), and the Countess Ellen
Olenska (Sierra Boggess), and once the stage is set, so to speak, it is this
triangle that drives most of the play, with the Old Gentleman offering wistful
commentary and pianist Yan Li providing the background music that captures the
emotional flow of the play.
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| Boyd Gaines, Sierra Boggess and Andrew Veenstra |
May and
Newland have an “understanding,” although their engagement has yet to be
announced. Both are children of the upper crust, and thus their courtship is
bound by rules and regulations that will, once the couple’s intentions are made
public, require a year of “getting to know each other” before the actual
nuptials. Although feeling somewhat constrained, Newland is willing to go along
with the arrangement until the arrival of the Countess, a soiled dove (she left
her reportedly abusive husband in Europe and perhaps ran off with his clerk)
who Newland finds entrancing. She is a breath of fresh air, all the more
enticing for it perhaps being a bit tainted.
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| Helen Cespedes |
Once all of this has been established, the play seems to drop ballast and sail forward spiritedly. The wind in the sails is provided by Cespedes, Boggess and Veenstra, who in their respective scenes together develop an engaging chemistry. This is especially true in the scene, somewhat late in the play, when May, now married to Newland, announces that she is pregnant. This announcement elicited sighs and gasps from the audience for various reasons. It’s a compelling scene, as are the scenes between Newland and the Countess as they teeter on the brink of infidelity.
As is often
expected of the Hartford Stage, the production values for “The Age of
Innocence” are outstanding. Kudos first of all to costume designer Linda Cho,
who captures the multiple styles of the era, including bustles and shortened
bodices, with accentuated drapery where appropriate. Lighting designer Ben
Stanton provides a profusion of moods and subtly directs the audience’s
attention to where it belongs. Finally, the set, designed by John Lee Beatty,
might be considered a hybrid, part representational and part presentational.
There are elements that seem to evoke the Crystal Palace, the focus of the 1851
Great Exhibition in London, while others seem to suggest one of the great train
stations built in the nineteenth century. What is also suggested is the
rigidity of the class system the play deals with and the societal cage in which
Newland finds himself constrained.
Response to
the adaptation might very well be dictated by familiarity with the material
from which it is drawn. Perforce, McGrath has, at times, had to rely on
implication, condensation and suggestion -- those familiar with Wharton’s novel
can fill in the blanks. Those who come fresh to the story may, at times,
scratch their heads just a bit, especially during scenes that Wharton fully
developed that are treated only in passing (this is especially true of the “If
she turns” scene, which is pivotal in the novel but given only a fleeting
moment in the play).
Wharton
purists may cavil a bit, but this production of “The Age of Innocence” nicely
captures the essence of the Wharton novel and, once the scene has been set,
provides an engaging study of love constrained and thwarted. It successfully
captures the era Wharton wrote about and engages the audience in the love
triangle and portrays, through blocking and body language, the idea that May,
the quintessential “innocent,” may have been the wisest of them all.
“The Age of
Innocence” runs through May 6. For tickets or more information call
860-520-7125 or go to www.hartfordstage.org
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