DORSET — In a largely rural state like Vermont, the inner workings of municipal government, as well as their regular public manifestations, don’t go unnoticed by the citizens. The deal making, drama, and even the petty and sometimes drab nature of proceedings consume local news, if not word of mouth and gossip, often giving life to an entire cadre of “experts” and conspiracy theorists.
It’s important then, to keep all of this in mind when attending The Dorset Players’ second show of their 98th season, Pulitzer and Tony nominated “The Minutes” by Tracy Letts, directed by Jonathan Pate and produced by Derryl Lang and Mark McChesney.
The story itself takes place in November at the city council meeting of Big Cherry, apparently somewhere west of the Mississippi, though we never quite know.
The entire affair descends into a dark mystery and a critique of how a community’s history is preserved and celebrated. A new council member, Mr. Peel (Mike Cutler), becomes suspicious about the sudden departure of a previous councilman, Mr. Carp (Paul Michael Brinker), which leads to the revelation that the town’s celebrated heritage is built on a disturbing secret.
Mayor Superba (Josh Bond) presides over the meeting, whose other members are: the clerk Ms. Johnson (Joey Blane), Mr. Blake (Aidan Kennedy), Mr. Breeding (Christopher Restino), Mr. Hanratty (Brian Driscoll), Mr. Assalone (Tom Martins), Ms. Innes (Elizabeth Parsons Kent), Ms. Matz (Kasey Franzoni), and Mr. Oldfield (Peter Franzoni).
The meeting starts out with comedic bureaucracy and then evolves into a chilling drama as Peel’s questioning about the last meeting he missed (while away at his mother’s funeral), and the absent Mr. Carp, suggest.
Director Pate molded his cast into an expressive unit still capable of individual excellence across the board.
The actors, as we have come to expect in a Players production, all excelled. It is difficult to single out any one performance but Paul Michael Brinker’s powerful and chilling soliloquy as Mr. Carp put the audience on notice, even if Letts’ noble yet drifting-toward-preachy tone was overdone in places.
Kasey Franzoni’s airheaded brilliance and her real-life husband Peter’s cantankerous curmudgeon accounted for many of audience guffaws. And Blane’s fastidious nitpicking, Martins’ obstinate obstruction, and Bond’s official buffoonery followed suit. Restino, Driscoll, Cutler, Kennedy and Kent very nicely rounded out the council stereotypes with both outrageous humor and serious tones – with some astutely portrayed annoyances adding to the mix.
The Players have a tradition of production excellence and it showed yet again by the dedication of those behind the scenes, who should take a collective bow for their work under Lang and McChesney: Patty Greene-Pawelczyk (stage manager), Larry Nichols (costumes), Annie Nash, Pate and David McAneny (set design), Kristen Partesi (specialty painting), Brian Miksis (sound), David V. Groupe (lights), Angie Merwin and her lighting crew of Kim Bina, John Lee, McChesney, Joe Mozer, and Donna Murray, and the set crew army of McAneney, Steve Holman, Errol Hill, Nash, Rich Savoyski, and Eric Burdge. These folks spoil us, show after show, and would be the envy of any professional theater outfit.
The play clocked in at just under 100 minutes, with no intermission.
As it were, Vermont’s leaf season offers a captivating backdrop for an evening of theater, and given this context, “The Minutes” delivers in satisfying ways. While fiery foliage paints a picture of tranquil beauty outside, this dark comedy about small-town politics peels back the curtain on something far more sinister.
One audience member I chatted with after the show put it well, in words which amounted to the following: this play has a tension that enhances its impact, forcing all of us to consider what might be hidden just beneath a placid surface.
And not to be lost in all these dramatic paeans, let’s also not forget where we are: attending a community theater like the Dorset Players is a quintessentially Vermont thing, celebrating local talent and civic bonds.
The Dorset Playhouse’s cozy confines further draws the audience into Letts’ story of Big Cherry, making the play’s dissection of local power dynamics and hidden history all the more resonant.
Ultimately, the Players got the timing, and the execution, of this show right: “The Minutes” on stage during leaf season highlights the stark difference between perception and reality. What seems idyllic and picturesque can hide difficult truths, a theme the play masterfully explores.
So, get in your car and make the scenic drive to Dorset to see it. You’ll get to laugh, but then also think. And, you may just be left contemplating the potential secrets in your own community, long after the last leaf has fallen.
“The Minutes” will run through Oct 26 with both matinee and evening shows, at the Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Rd. in Dorset. Tickets: call the box office at 802-867-5777 or visit dorsetplayers.org.
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