The Little Foxes

Critiqued by Holly Bartges

Germinal Stage Denver's production of Lillian Hellman's play The Little Foxes is so awesome it was as though I had never before seen it. I cannot believe it has been done any better by anyone, anywhere, anytime. The beauty of GSD is the intimacy of the theatre where every innuendo of expression, whether a flick of an eyebrow, a callas smirk, or a subtle pleased successful scheme cannot possibly be missed. Little Foxes features a prime cast of artists whose chemistry is tight. This play calls for a cast of artists with chemistry. Because of the intricacies of the family games being played out, the actors must like each other from the get-go.

Gina Wencel and Heather Taylor in Germinal Stage Denver's production of The Little Foxes

Ah, yes, the little foxes. And the Lord God said when His creation was in place, 'Let the games begin'. (Genesis 51:30)

They did, and they haven't stopped for one minute of one century since.

Hellman, basing her story on her family connections, sets the play in the deep south in 1900, with a story of malevolent greed, hunger for power, wealth, and authority that apples to all times, all places. It is an Everyman story speaking far into eternity. The story will always be engaging. Couple it with an exemplary cast of artistic artists such as GSD, and it grabs the soul, allowing it to smile with identification. We know these people. They may even be us.

Often Regina is played as bitter, angry, out for revenge, and she has reason, but there is more to her than that. Gina Wencel literally takes the breath away as Regina. Perhaps a woman ahead of her time, wanting more than the period will allow. Daughters not considered important, were frequently denied inheritance from moneyed parents. Sons were the recipients of wills. Consequently, Regina was left to depend upon her ill and estranged husband, Horace, (Leroy Leonard)

The family's honored money went to brothers, Ben (Ed Baierlein) and Oscar (Mark Moran).

With an opportunity to invest in a cotton gin, the brothers saw their money growing into millions. However, they need the help of their sister, asking her to persuade Horace for $75,000.

Davida Terrell, Mark Branche and Leroy Leonard in Germinal Stage Denver's production of The Little Foxes

With a smug smile, Ben parades with a sense of control. There are times it is difficult to keep the eyes off of Baierlein. Ben controls the family's reins, and he knows it. Oscar knows it too, and his angered frustration bubbles under the surface, treating his hapless wife, Birdie (Jennie MacDonald) with distain, bullying her unmercifully. It wasn't love that brought them together, it was her family's money, and she knows it. Coping with the truth can take many different forms. Birdie resorts to a far away place no one can visit but her. MacDonald's far- off expressions nearly tells her story before she does. With the cunning schemingness everyone in the family finds themselves catapulted into, the innuendos of everyone's expressions reveal the thoughts pattern of each one. You can see the wheels churning inside their heads they are all so expressive.

Moran's Oscar crinkles the back of the neck with his outbursts and nearly out of control shakes. You expect him to explode into a zillion pieces right before your eyes.

Regina and Horace's 17 year old daughter, Alexandra, wondrously played by Heather Taylor, reflects the confusion of a young woman wanting to become the lady she could be and the little girl Regina wishes to keep her. To protect her? Possibly, an all too common parental mishap. Without warning, because it fits the plan, Alexandra is thrust into womanhood to go to the hospital her Father has been for five months to convince him to come home because Regina wants him home. No, she can't take Addie with her. She must go alone, and she must succeed. Why? All of a sudden, when a short time before when she wanted to take a trip she wasn't allowed. She was too young.

Addie, Regina's maid, played by Davida A.Terrell, knows her place. She does what is expected, anticipating the requirements before hand. In her eyes shines the wisdom of the world. Terrill gives her an enchantment you wish everyone in that family could see. What they see is their obedient Negro servant.

Ed Baierlein and Gina Wencil in Germinal Stage Denver's production of The Little Foxes

Cunningly, Ben sets a time limit on Regina's success for the money.

Another scheme concocted by Ben and enticed by Oscar, convinces Leo, (Patrick Mann) who works at the bank to help himself to Horace's bonds. Horace certainly won't be looking at them for sometime, and before he knows it, the bonds will be replaced. The brothers will have their needed money and the cotton gin. Oscar proposes that his son Leo, and Alexandria marry. Both young people are repulsed by the idea. Mann's Leo is the obedient son, and even though he obviously is uncomfortable with his father's pressuring, he knows better than to disobey. With a smile plastered on his face you can see the wheels whirl in Mann's head.

When Horace and Alexandria return home, the confrontation between Horace and Regina chills the blood. He may be sick, but he rules the roost and he knows it. Regina silently waits for her moment. It will come, she knows it, and when it does, she will strike. She doesn't have to wait long. When Horace spills his medication, and asks her to go up stairs for more, she stands stoically, proudly, coldly behind him.

Leonard's portrayal is so real, so honest; you can feel Horace illness and his pain. While Regina ignores his pleas, you want to scream at her. It would do no good. She doesn't pay any attention to Horace; she wouldn't pay any attention to anyone else. That's clear, and one knows why.

Early in the show when Ben and Oscar make arrangements with Marshall (Randy Diamon) over the cotton gin, Regina observes here is a man with all the wealth in the world and no family. It's almost a glimpse into the future for her without her knowing.

All does not goes as planned, and Horace discovers the missing bonds, but not without a plan of his own. When he gives instructions to his servant, Cal, (Mark Branche), the servant agrees but makes it clear he doesn't understand why is doing what he is told to do. No matter, he is the servant, and he will obey. Branche carries the weight of the world on Cal's proud shoulders.

Directed by Baierlein, Stephen Kramer designed the lights, and Sallie Diamond aptly designed the period costumes, fitting the characters and the actors perfectly. With GSD's small stage, the set design is always amazing, simplified, and yet offering suggestions allowing the imagination to roam.

Gripping, realistic, honest, clever, with bites of caustic humor, The Little Foxes should not be missed. It is theatrical perfection from Baierlien's wry controlled smiles, to Leonard's pain, to Wencel's scheming headstrong determination, to Moran's frightening shuddering, to Terrell and Branche's spiritual knowing and clarified obedient structure. The Little Foxes is a Masterpiece of worth in today's world.

The Little Foxes
By Lillian Hellman; Designed & Directed by Ed Baierlein