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Role Reversals
by Adrienne Cea
The Tutor reviewed September 25, 2005
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| Meredith Bull and Eric Ankrim in THE TUTOR |
| Photo Credit:Cara Reichel |
| Most people never remember what they scored on their SATs in high school. Yet when their children take the test, they suddenly remember all too well. Perhaps that is why some parents dress their children in Princeton sweatshirts from the time they are 5, whereas others pay tutors up to $200 an hour to prepare them for the impending exam.
In Maryrose Wood's delightfully unique musical The Tutor, playing at 59E59 Theatres, two desperate Manhattan parents named Richard (Richard Pruitt) and Esther (Gayton Scott) hire a young alumnus from Princeton named Edmund (Eric Ankrim) to tutor their daughter for the SATs. They tentatively introduce him to their punked-out, heavily made-up teenager, Sweetie (Meredith Bull), hoping he will see the Ivy League potential in her.
Edmund sees something in Sweetie, but it is not potential. As a starving artist working on the Great American Novel, he sees young Sweetie as the perfect "cash cow" to subsidize his income while he writes, never imagining that one day this young girl could wind up teaching him.
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| L to R: Eric Ankrim and Rafael Fetta |
| Photo Credit:Cara Reichel |
| With an onstage orchestra supplying the live music and a variety of complex scene changes sustaining the plot's fast pace, the cast and crew have no room for error as they scurry about in the darkness between scenes. The spotlights are perfectly timed, the orchestra is always exactly on cue, and everyone manages to get where he or she needs to be on this jungle gym of a stage. Often an actor will balance on a high platform while another rolls him into place. On many occasions, Ankrim dashes across the stage to quickly hoist himself atop the orchestra box, where the ceiling serves as his studio apartment's floor. It is impressive to watch how much is flawlessly accomplished in the few seconds the actors have to create their next setting.
When Edmund first appears to evaluate Sweetie's potential, he is obnoxiously well mannered and condescending to his student. Then one day in the library she asks to read some of his novel. Reluctantly, he shows her, but regrets it when she criticizes the mechanical way he writes. She offers suggestions, and Edmund is surprised to find that they help his writing. From there she becomes his trusted reader, giving comments, criticism, and general feedback at each of their sessions.
Eventually the two become close and discover that the best parts of themselves come out when they are together. Edmund's enthusiasm for writing fuels her desire to learn, and her unjaded vision of the world helps him to see his characters from a new perspective. Their bond strengthens to the point where Edmund cannot imagine writing without Sweetie, and Sweetie cannot imagine liking any other boy but Edmund. Unfortunately, he is oblivious to her feelings, and her girlhood crush leads to the play's main conflict, which has nothing to do with tests and everything to do with people.
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| L to R: Meredith Bull, Eric Ankrim, Lucy Sorensen, Rafael Fetta |
| Photo Credit:Cara Reichel |
| The Tutor plays with the notion that sometimes in life we are never sure who is tutoring whom. During the course of the story, a student learns from her teacher, parents learn from their child, and a teacher learns from his student. By the end, they all learn to lighten up, listen to each other, and not take life so seriously.
It is a relief to see a play that is not afraid to try something new and has a good time doing it. The actors have an infectious energy that makes you want to follow their story wherever it may lead. There are catchy original songs by the team of Maryrose Wood and Andrew Gerle, the most memorable being "Stupid Rich Kids," "Don't Eat Your Friends," "Me Artist, You Rich," and Esther's somber ballad "That's How a Life Is Made," sung beautifully by Gayton Scott.
This production is fun enough for all ages to thoroughly enjoy, but its subject will be especially significant to high school students. When the SATs descend upon them in their senior year, it would be nice if they could see a play poking fun at all the surrounding hysteria. As The Tutor astutely reminds us, it is only a test.
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59E59 Theaters
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Category: unknown
Written by: Maryrose Wood
Directed by: Sarah Gurfield
Produced by: Prospect Theater Company
Opened: September 10, 2005
Closed: October 2, 2005
Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Theater: 59E59 Theaters
Address: 59 East 59th St.
New York, NY 10022
Yahoo! Maps Directions
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Tickets: $15.00
$12 for students
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Book and Lyrics by Maryrose Wood
Music by Andrew Gale
Directed by: Sarah Gurfield
Managing Director: Melissa Huber
Sound Designer: Jeffrey Yoshi Lee
Lighting Design: Aaron J. Mason
Choreographer: Christine O'Grady
Producing Artistic Director: Cara Reichel
Stage Manager: Nathan Williams
Costume Designer: Naomi Wolff
Press Representative: Corinne Zadik
Set Designer: Nick Francome
Production Manager: Jeff Griffin
Associate Producer: Morgan Allen
Assistant Director: Donald Butchko
Assistant Costume Designer/Wadrobe Supervisor: Melinda Basaca
Master Electrician: Amith A. Chandrashaker
Props Master: Lora Napler
Board Operator: Sherod Green
Orchestra
Music Director/Pianist: Ray Fellman
Keyboards: Daniel Feyer
Bass: Jim Coker
Percussion: Bruce Doctor
Orchestrations: Andrew Gerle
Cast
Eric Ankrim as Edmund
Meredith Bull as Sweetie
Raphael Fetta as Sean/Bo
Richard Pruitt as Richard
Gayton Scott as Esther
Lucy Sorensen: Hildegarde/Pippi
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