Amy’s Influence, Esme’s View
September 11, 2011 by Hedonista · Leave a Comment
As hedonistic at heart as we all are, the realities of life make a constant state of hedonism, well, rather difficult at times. Disappointments, failures, and losses – even outright tragedies – weave themselves into the fabric of all of our lives. However, how we all respond to those non-hedonistic times in life is a measure of the type of individuals we all are.
Mother-daughter joy: Julie Jamieson's Esme Thomas (left) and Angela DiMarco's Amy Thomas (right). Photo by Michael Brunk, provided by ArtsWest, and used with permission.
Take British playwright David Hare’s Amy Thomas, in Amy’s View, for example. Amy’s View, directed by Christopher Zinovitch, is currently opening the 14th Season at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery from September 7th until October 1st, 2011. (A season the theme of which, according to Christopher Zinovitch, is strong women. Your Hedonista attended as media on Friday night.) This play is known for its plethora tensions, be it between theatre and television, mothers and daughters, or careers and family. However, this play is really about the way one woman viewed the world and the impact that view had upon those around her.
Amy is one of those Pollyanna types who believes that everyone should get along and love and respect one another. Dripping with positivism and loyalty, Amy feels that, in the end, love will save the day. Those whom Amy loves, however, do not hold the same priorities. For example, there’s her mother, Esme Thomas, who, although devoted to Amy, still focused on her career above all else. Then, her grandmother, Evelyn Thomas and Esme’s mother-in-law. She practically raised Amy, then, in the end, is slowly lost as she suffers from Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Even Amy’s choice of a life partner, the handsome and ambitious Dominic Tyghe, didn’t love her the way she loved him; not only did he choose his career before her (just like her mother), but after she’d given him the confidence to succeed, he traded her up for a younger model. Then there’s Esme’s widowhood (she’d been fairly happily married to an artist) and choice of would-be suitor – her financial advisor, Frank Oddie, who ends up losing her entire fortune. Dubbed a tragicomedy, this play is really about raw ‘n’ real life and the fact that sometimes bad things happen in much more than three’s. That said, it’s Amy’s life – one that she led by example – that ends up being much more powerful than one could perhaps ever imagine.
Mother-daughter sorrow: Julie Jamieson's Esme Thomas (left) and Angela DiMarco's Amy Thomas (right). Photo by Michael Brunk, provided by ArtsWest, and used with permission.
Complete with a cast of six – although really five, as the sixth character, an actor by the name of Toby Cole, played by Ryan Floresca (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Measure for Pleasure, and Evil Dead, The Musical), only enters in the very last scene – these actors don’t disappoint. Angela DiMarco’s Amy is real and raw, which begs us to empathize with her. Julie Jamieson’s self-absorbed-yet-struggling Esme is intense and oftentimes cold. Mary Lou Mills’ role as Evelyn depicts the typical aging, doting (grand)parent. Paul Custodio’s Frank Oddie makes you both sympathize and cringe simultaneously. And Robert Hinds’ Dominic is the typical insecure, self-absorbed playboy who strives to not only live the dream, but to actually be it. These characters seem so … real. Likely because we all know them personally – in some form or other – in our own respective lives.
Strangely enough, all of the players age as the scenes unfold between 1979 and 1997, save for Esme. A fact that makes me think this is really Esme’s view, which, in the end, is profoundly affected by Amy’s influence. (Either that, or a gross oversight.)
Tickets range in price from $10 to $34.50. Note that there will be an “ON STAGE” discussion of Amy’s View at ArtsWest tomorrow (Monday, September 12, 2011) at 7:30 p.m. for those hedonists interested in attending.
P.S. – In the gallery side of ArstWest is one of the best exhibits I have seen to-date: Evolution of a Diva, which runs August 30th through October 8th, 2011, features two Seattle artists – Mark Kaufman and Patricia Ridenour – and one Renton artist, Barbara Benedetti Newton.
