Speakeasy Stage Company starts of their 2009-2010 season with a bang, offering Evan Smith’s The Savannah Disputation.  Part theology lesson, part situation comedy, Smith combines a cast of ridiculous but loveable characters with a somewhat serious subject matter- and the results are a delightful foray into the spiritual mind of four uniquely stubborn personalities.  Smith’s play is delightfully fun and thought-provoking, without being typical or preachy- and you actually learn a lot just by watching.  He also has some really entertaining program notes for those of us fated to see productions solo to help take up those awkward pre-show and intermission moments, “John Hagee, the popular televangelist,” he shares, “has been reported as having once called the Roman Catholic Church ‘the great whore.’”  After reading that little tidbit, I knew I was in for a treat!

Nancy E. Carroll and Paula Plum embody elderly sisters Mary and Margaret, a pair of devout Catholics living a quiet lifestyle of meals, tv, and church, surrounded by iconography that define the faith; saint statues, wall and palm crucifixes, even a three foot tall Virgin Mary statue-bank.  Timothy Crowe plays Father Patrick Murphy, Thursday night dinner guest and priest of Mary’s church, and Carolyn Charpie makes her Speakeasy debut as Melissa, “Catholic Missionary” who makes it her goal to convert Catholics into “real Christians.”   The cast is excellent, working together as a unit as well as shining individually, offering a hearty portion of doctrine with a strong dose of humor.

Carroll is stern and ornery, she was the spitting image of the stubborn, miserly great aunt that we all have, you know, the one who sends  you a crisp five dollar bill on Christmas inside a card depicting the three wise men on camels created to raise money for the local soup kitchen.  Plum as Margaret is the doe-eyed sister that you might expect to accompany Carroll’s Mary- gentle and thoughtful, movements stooped with self doubt.  The two worked in harmony in such a way that their mannerisms mirrored one another the way sisters might, but were still unique.  Crowe is the kind of priest that any Catholic would be glad to know- both those practicing and those who have strayed from the flock.  He’s funny, smart, and thoughtful with not an ounce of the creepiness that often comes with playing a man of the cloth- he does not fall into those trappings.  His anger is tempered and real, even his pudding eating was enjoyable to watch.  Charpie is the perfect actress to finish out this wonderful cast- she is energetic and bursting with life.  Her accent is excellent and never falters (props to dialect coach Amelia Broome) and her face has beautiful expression.  I’m not one to comment on someone’s facial qualities usually, but she has very authentic expressions and I am not ashamed to say, she did bring a tear to my eye in one of her more delicate moments.

The 90 minute play flies by, partly because Eric Levenson’s scenic design was fantastic- it looked frighteningly like my grandmother’s living room.  He didn’t miss a beat from the ugly shower curtain peaking from the off-stage bathroom to the ridiculous chintzy couch pillows.  I’ve mentioned before that I admire Levenson’s work, and he certainly did not disappoint with this set.  Andrew Duncan Will also provided a great sound design, peppered with wonderful rock-and-roll Jesus music.  Paul Daigneault led the team of crew and actors as director on this project.  I must commend him on his attention to detail and nuance.  This piece, I’m afraid, has the potential to get a little “a very special episode of The Golden Girls” but I think that he avoided going in that direction by downplaying some of the slapstick humor and darkening up some of the intimate moments just enough to make you stop laughing and start thinking.

Anyone who is a Catholic, was a Catholic, loves a Catholic or even KNOWS a Catholic is going to enjoy the humor of this show.  Never preachy, there are many opportunities to appreciate and think about all sorts of deep spiritual topics.  It was a great start to a really exciting season for the Speakeasy Stage Company.  They are advertising a really entertaining cabaret fundraiser called “Sorry Wrong Number” on October 5^th and 6^th featuring some of our local musical celebrities singing songs they would never be able to perform in real life.  Sounds like fun to me!

Mary and Margaret share a moment.  Photo by Mark L. Saperstein