May 14, 2024

Internet adventure yesterday. Received a barrage of pop-up warnings that I knew were false but which I couldn’t stop. Miraculously, McAfee really did help to end the issue for the moment. Ironically, the malware had come in on my Kirkus review. 

W writes in Asheville Stages:

If there were ever a show designed to make me self-conscious about writing a review, A God in the Waters would be it.

The latest effort by Asheville-based playwright David Brendan Hopes — produced by The Sublime Theater & Press and debuted May 9 at downtown’s The BeBe Theatre — spends most of its two-hour runtime dwelling on the theme of criticism: whether it be directed at self, family members, or the very concept of objective merit. Its central character, Peter Loredan (Steven Samuels), is a classical composer animated by the impending judgment of a New Yorker reviewer upon his second symphony’s premiere. Its dialogue employs and dissects the language of appraisal, full of words like “inspiration” and “accessibility” and “modern.”

(Samuels himself, who also directed the play, emailed me photos of the production accompanied by the note, “Asheville Stages is our New Yorker.” No pressure at all.)

Such artistic self-reference runs the risk of becoming obnoxiously meta, but aside from a few overly-clever quips in the second act, Hopes avoids that flaw. Instead, he grounds his heady themes in compelling family dynamics that unfold in a measured mix of comedy and drama among the talented ensemble.

The different threads of criticism are most tightly braided in the interactions between Peter and his son Anthony (Jon Stockdale), an accomplished bassoonist and part of the orchestra that performed the elder Loredan’s work. During a reception for the symphony, the two trade wicked barbs about their respective artistry that Hopes heaps with personal meaning; there’s no mistake that their clash is merely the latest in decades of verbal jousting.

The script is excellent, and Samuels’ direction further amplifies its implied study in contrasts between father and son. Anthony’s movements are subdued and measured, Peter’s full of exaggerated gestures and grimacing expressions. Kayren McKnight’s costuming helps make the point as well, with Anthony remaining in his neutral concert tux while Peter slips into a silk jacket with fiery red dragons.

Filling out the family circle is Peter’s wife Emilia (Kathy O’Connor), endowed by Hopes with an exquisite blend of wisdom and worry. O’Connor gives a masterclass in subtle acting as she rides out her husband’s temper with quick sidelong glances, slight wavers of the voice, and a tightening of the grip on his hand throughout key exchanges. Again, the audience understands that she’s witnessed similar moments many times before. 

Into the family triad enter Anthony’s brash girlfriend Amy (Olivia Stuller) and the quietly charismatic hotel waiter Eleven (Adam Olson). Without giving away too much of the plot, both come from outside the insular world of classical music, and their vastly different responses to Peter’s symphony shake up the routines of the Loredan household.

I’ve only seen one other play by Hopes, last year’s Ben & Angela, but I noticed several stylistic similarities in his latest work deployed to great effect. There were monologues infused with the rhythms of poetry, such as Peter and Anthony’s gorgeous descriptions of music. And there was a wordless solo dance (choreographed with great expressive freedom by Kristi DeVille) deployed at a key emotional moment.

Underlying both that play and the present one, I sensed a conviction of basic moral goodness. Throughout A God in the Waters, the playwright asks his audience to consider the point of criticism: What is it good for? Is it a tool for tearing down others, or for proving one’s aesthetic superiority, or for achieving status among a circle of erudite obsessives?

None of these, Hopes seems to say. At its best, criticism should come from a place of love, a desire to help others understand both the good and evil they do not grasp about themselves. The lesson stands for families, for classical musicians — and perhaps for theater critics.

A God in the Waters runs through Saturday, May 18, at The BeBe Theatre. For details and tickets, visit this link. 

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The play is not actually about criticism at all. Not a bad review, but an ignorant one. Extended sigh.

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