The Ride Down Mount Morgan

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Life is a mystery. No question. What one wishes to accomplish in life, once in a while goes over the top in death. Such it is with John Hand, founder of the Colorado Free University who was recently and brutally murdered. Unless one was connected with the university, the name John Hand probably didn’t mean anything; or that he was a huge theatre buff and ran the Firehouse Theatre with enormous enthusiasm as a community theatre. With the skillions of theatre companies between Denver and Boulder, this was a theatre I’d never heard of; lead by a theatre proponent I’d never met.

Left to Right: Deborah Persoff, Jeffrey Atherton and Kendra Crain-McGovern in The Ride Down Mount Morgan at the Firehouse Theatre.

But what a legacy this man left. With the will and determination of his sister Helen, and scores of volunteers, the John Hand Theatre has becomes a polished, exciting venue.

Arthur Miller’s The Ride Down Mount Morgan was the last play Hand scheduled. It was to be the inaugural play introducing the theatre to the Denver theatre-going people.

Under the expert direction of Christopher Leo, with a stellar cast, and the regional premiere of The Ride Down Mount Morgan from the word-master himself, Miller, the John Hand Theatre will become a household name.

Hardly a funny subject: polygamy. Neither is a serious car accident sliding down an icy road, closed because of danger. With a wordsmith like Miller, and a talented skilled cast, the unfunny becomes hysterical.

From his hospital bed and multiple injuries, Jeffrey Atherton climbs into the bandages of Lyman Felt writhing from drugged hallucinations.

Of course, the hospital has notified his wife of 30 years, Theodora, bitingly portrayed by Deborah Persoff, and his daughter Bessie, given life by Alana Eve Burman.

The hospital has also notified his wife of nine years, Leah, who explodes onto the stage with the assistance of Kendra Crain-McGovern.

Two wives? Yes, indeed. Two wives, two families, two different lifestyles. A successful New York insurance tycoon with a convenient satellite office in Upper New York wants all life has to offer and then some, and when he has that, he wants more.

Lyman becomes frantic discovering his wives are en route, spouting angrily to Nurse Logan, (Ninochka “Nina” Grayson). Grayson is charmingly brilliant with her facial expressions and timing. Nurse Logan knows how to handle this bellowing bull, and Grayson knows how to beckon laughs.

Shock electrifies the hospital waiting room when the two wives meet. Persoff bites Theo’s words into mincemeat, slinging them with machine gun speed, all the while her eyes bite the permeated atmosphere with equal slashing vengeance. Laughter rides high on the heels, not because of her situation, but because of the well-chosen original words slamming at the audience in total surprise with “Persoff-esque” brilliance.

Joe Wilson wears Lyman’s lawyer, Tom, with confused stoic lawyer-type compliance. In the mass volcanic confusion, Wilson spreads his lawyer glue liberally to keep mind, body, soul stuck together.

Atherton’s compassion for Lyman, who dearly loves both his families, rationalizes rhyme and reason eliciting empathy. Limon’s justification actually makes sense. At least he did to me, adding even more humor to the humor-drenched story.

For the small stage, Brian Miller designed a set of appropriate nature, allowing the story to easily shift through time and space while the characters remember particular events. Miller’s creative lighting design almost takes on a persona of its own as an exclamation point to the rattled characters.

When making reservations, and reservations you definitely will want to make, get explicit directions for the Lowry campus. First timers can find this tricky. Whoever designed the roads must have been playing poker with a large bottle of gin. It even has Map Quest confused. Directions are actually simple, once the how and when is known. Meet Hand through his legacy. Experience Arthur Miller at his finest, welcome Firehouse Theatre Company with glee, and savor the momentum of this exceptional cast.