{"id":6046,"date":"2013-05-18T00:07:01","date_gmt":"2013-05-18T07:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=6046"},"modified":"2013-05-18T00:07:01","modified_gmt":"2013-05-18T07:07:01","slug":"pacifica-spindrift-the-little-foxes-come-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/pacifica-spindrift-the-little-foxes-come-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacifica Spindrift: “The Little Foxes” come home"},"content":{"rendered":"

The notes I made at intermission refer to the strong performances by all the actors in what amounted to an ensemble piece:\u00a0 each of them came onstage, thoroughly created their characters and laid out their part in the framework for the story. Especially noteworthy during the first two scenes: Laurie Wall\u2019s \u201cBirdie Hubbard\u201d barely controlled her developing mental breakdown, and Bethany Friedel\u2019s expertly nuanced teenaged \u201cZan Giddens\u201d brought a few laughs from those in the audience who knew adolescents well.\u00a0 Kris Carey\u2019s \u201cOscar Hubbard\u201d was brimming with the suppressed rage of a dominated younger brother to John Szabo\u2019s cool, macchiavellian \u201cBen Hubbard\u201d as they negotiated a seamy business deal with John Tranchitell\u2019s \u201cMr. Marshall.\u201d\u00a0 All this in the first two acts of Lillian Hellman\u2019s The Little Foxes<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The Director\u2019s Notes comment that Ms. Hellman \u201chad not meant for audiences to think of her characters as villains to whom they had no connection. but to recognize some part of themselves in the money-dominated Hubbards.\u201d\u00a0 In this she was disappointed.\u00a0 In me I suppose.\u00a0 Nothing of me in there.\u00a0 I did however recognize, in Ben, my cousin.\u00a0 But I digress. . . .<\/p>\n

In the final two acts after intermission, The Little Foxes<\/span> really, I mean really caught fire.\u00a0 The impressive work of the first half was just setting the stage for some really powerful performances by everyone in the cast remaining onstage.\u00a0 One by one each came to the fore, expressing the passion, the despair and resignation, the resilience developed when greed and lust for money betray ordinary familial affection and self-respect.\u00a0\u00a0 Collin Wenzel\u2019s Leo finally realizes he\u2019s been \u201chad\u201d by his own father and uncle.\u00a0 Joy Eaton\u2019s \u201cRegina Giddens,\u201d facing the audience, finally reveals the origin of her cold calculating greed.\u00a0 There is tragedy enough for everyone here.\u00a0 Its source is the love of money.<\/p>\n

I had a word with director Jim Sousa after the show.\u00a0 He let his actors run with their parts.\u00a0 Wise man.\u00a0 His choice of shades of gray for the set, with bursts of color here and there, served to emphasize the bleakness of the script, and the lives of the characters.<\/p>\n

A fine production.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say enough.<\/p>\n

Through May 19, 2013<\/p>\n

Theatre website:\u00a0 Pacifica Spindrift Players<\/a><\/p>\n

Box Office:\u00a0 650-359-8002<\/p>\n

Review by David Hirzel www.davidhirzel.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The notes I made at intermission refer to the strong performances by all the actors in what amounted to an ensemble piece:\u00a0 each of them came onstage, thoroughly created their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[380,716,379,270,378,188],"class_list":{"0":"post-6046","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-david-hirzel","7":"tag-coastside-theatre","8":"tag-david-hirzel","9":"tag-lillian-hellman","10":"tag-pacifca-spindrift-players","11":"tag-the-little-foxes","12":"tag-theatre"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"