Your Dilly Dilly Heart

Critiqued by Holly Bartges

Scott Gibson's new play, Your Dilly Dilly Heart, made its world premier this past weekend at Celebrationworks. Under the direction of Bernie Cardell, the play faced enormous obstacles, mainly with the limitations of the Lecture Hall turned theatre. Rather than working with the limitations, the production company appeared to work against them.

CelebrationWorks production of Your Dilly Dilly Heart with Nancy Thomas, Anthony Bianco and Nita Froelich

The minimal lighting system, established mainly as a lecture hall, was the main problem. The white bright lights, without gels to soften the faces, cast shadows where shadows aren't wanted. Two bright spots in the back did nothing for the stage. For those sitting in the back, the spots caught the peripheral vision creating a source of irritation. I mention this simply because when Shadow Theatre Company moved into the space in 1996, they faced the same situation. I don't remember the name of the first production, but it was a knockout as that company worked with what they had. Later they added lights of their own, but in the beginning, they understood what they had to work with, added gels and staged the production to meet the needs of the limited lighting system. Limitations provide opportunity for creative challenges. It was accomplished once. It can be accomplished again.

Beau, brought to life by Anthony Bianco, a highly disturbed and distraught teenager, walks away after two years in a Reformatory for something he insists he didn't do. Angry and eager to return to the hellhole of the small town he grew up in to reunite with his girlfriend, he hijacks a car with two women on vacation.

It isn't clear where Merle (Nita Froelich) and Janis (Nancy Thomas) are. If it was mentioned in the play, someone swallowed her words. They seem to be rambling around seeking out flea markets finding delight in one particular place, and filling up the trunk with treasured goodies.

Janis serves as narrator, remembering this one particular trip as best she can, commenting "You don't really know a person until you travel with them". Friends at home, they discover they are anything but compatible. Merle becomes demandingly bossy. Before leaving one motel, Janis would like a piece of pie. Merle lets her know in no uncertain terms she doesn't need it, and can have pie when they stop for dinner. Why Janis lets her rule the roost remains a mystery. In her narration Janis comes across as forthright, but on the trip sacrifices that aspect. Perhaps to try to keep the peace, when all Janis wants is a piece.

Settled in the car, they are startled by Beau jumping in the back seat with a knife, clamping his hands over their mouths. "Drive" he demands. The car must have been startled also. The sound tells us the car starts and begins to take off. It is several seconds before Merle, who is driving, attempts to put her hands on the pretend wheel. A crash would be one way to end the charade, but the trip continues as though the car knew exactly what to do.

Initially, Merle and Janis show their surprised fear. Although the lines given to the two express continued fear, the demeanor of the two women flash stoicism rather than fear for their lives. Rather than have the end of the bed as the car, a quick scene change would have been helpful using the two table chairs. A Blackout, reflective tape, and the scene change would have taken five seconds. Scene changes aren't defined. For a couple of minutes the two chairs and table becomes the restaurant. Merle moves to the bed, continues talking, and Janis responds. In a nano second they have moved to the motel room. It appears, however, they have magical powers and can communicate with each other through walls from restaurant to the room. Not defining scene changes isn't audience friendly.

The set features the motel room, complete with two beds, a small table with two chairs, and ugly motel pictures hanging on the wall, while the play also takes place in a restaurant, and in the car.

Sleeping on the floor in one motel, the sight of Beau in his shorts freaks out Merle, finding it disgusting. The lines say so, but her physical reaction says little.

Having taken these two women hostage, their words express concern for their lives, but not their reactions.

Beau just wants to establish connection with Danielle. Played by Catherine Pilasfas who's adorably animated. So adorably animated, one can't help but wonder why someone of her caliber would even want to get involved with someone as screwed up as Beau.

The play, written with flashbacks, takes Danni to the beginning as she explains the how and why Beau first attracted her. Something's missing. Logic frequently gets shafted where love is concerned, but her connection with him and his with her doesn't read across the boards. The explanation may well be in the script, but her soft voice in the shadows swallows some of the phrases.

The structure becomes confusing and flashbacks don't reveal themselves until the following scenes.

The program could have helped immensely giving an outline of the scenes: where they are, the time frame indicating real time or two years ago. I spent most of Intermission re-designing the set especially for Act I to define space and time.

When Danielle catches up with them at a motel, which is an enigma in itself, it isn't clear why she would drive an hour to connect with Beau for fifteen minutes only to tell him she had moved on. That isn't defined. It is assumed from his reaction.

While the two are talking past each other, Merle and Janis sit frozen in time. They need some small business, exchange looks, a whisper or two, instead of just sitting void of any expression. It appears as though Beau has magically turned them into stone.

The play concerns itself with love, and its many facets, lost opportunities, and wasted time. When Beau and Danielle go outside, presumably for her to tell him she has indeed moved on, Merle and Janis reflect on their own lives. The result becomes a whiny complaining opportunity rather than a dig into the depth of who they really are, the journey they have been on, and opportunities missed. When Janis' husband dies, she discoverers she knows nothing about how to pay a mortgage or take care of household demands. Learning, she realizes she didn't really need him after all. This needs, for the sake of the play, to be explored in a deeper vein. It may well be there, but this production doesn't reveal it. I have known several women caught in this exact same position, and it is anything but a superficial state of mind. Janis' explanation becomes ridiculously superficial, and almost laughable, which I don't think was the intent. At least, I hope not for the sake of those who live through such a terrifying experience.

It is difficult to feel any empathy for Merle and Janis, Froelich and Thomas don't supply a reason to care about them. The lines say one thing; the body language says something entirely different.

There are moments, Beau's angry outbursts seem over the top. Of course, he’s angry, and has reason to be, but the women's stoic atmosphere, reminds me of a frightened mouse in front of a sleeping cat. The time to be frightened is when the cat wakes up, not when it slumbers in happy kitty dreamland unaware the mouse is even there. Merle and Janis express too much placidity.

The ending just ends. Beau, destroyed, hides in the bathroom, and the women just say, "We're leaving now", and walk out. According to this production, there seemed to be several times they could have escaped but didn't. Was Beau supposed to have drawn them into his upside down tormented life? They don't show it. Nothing seems to be learned, nothing profoundly revealed. If it is in the play, it doesn't read across the boards. Yes, Merle sneaks back to the sobbing Beau whispering something in his ear. She doesn't tell Janis, so, of course, Janis can't include it in her narration. For all we know she just stuck her tongue in his ear after all of the times he referred to them as "old ladies".

I suspect there is more to Your Dilly Dilly Heart than what was projected.

Parking passes, required by the building, are needed for the parking lot of the building. Celebrationworks needs to rethink its process. As it stands now, if one parks in the parking lot, it is necessary to go up to the second floor, get a pass, and return to the car to put it on the dashboard. For the convenience of the audience, Celebrationworks needs to have people in the parking lot handing them out. In the short time since I saw the play, I have had a few people tell me they have no intention going through this hassle, not when there are 23 other plays that opened last weekend. . Unfortunately, some of these are Gibson and Cardell fans. Another obstacle begging for a creative solution.

Your Dilly Dilly Heart
World Premier by Scott Gibson