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<\/a><\/p>\nTom Hudgens, David Yen & Francis Serpa in Journey’s End at RVP. \u00a0Photo by Robin Jackson.<\/p>\n
\u00a0[rating:4] (4\/5 stars)<\/p>\n
Ross Valley Players presents the West Coast Premiere of the World War I drama Journey\u2019s End<\/em> by R.C. Sherriff. Set in the trenches of war, the play gives us a look into the experiences of the officers of a British Army infantry company as they prepare for an enemy attack.\u00a0 Set in a dugout at St. Quentin, France in 1918, toward the end of the war, the entire story plays out over four days\u2014March 18, 1918 to March 21, 1918.<\/p>\n First of all the set (Ron Krempetz) was excellent. A window dead center was brilliantly lit by Ellen Brooks and really helps to set the scene, as day breaks, the sun streams down and at night, the candles and lamps glow in the darkness.\u00a0 The attention to meticulous detail takes us straight back to the damp, inhospitable setting of the trenches.\u00a0 We could see two bunks, a table with candles and several makeshift chairs.<\/p>\n The play begins as Captain Hardy (Steve Price) prepares to go on leave\u2014new officers will replace him for the next six days.\u00a0 Captain Stanhope (David Yen) has been at the front for three years, is mentally on the edge and is always drinking whiskey. He is joined by Lt. Osborne (Tom Hudgens), 2nd<\/sup> Lt. Raleigh (Francis Serpa), 2nd<\/sup> Lt. Trotter (Stephen Dietz), and 2nd<\/sup> Lt. Hibbert (Phillip Goleman).\u00a0 Sean Gunnell (Private Mason) is the omnipresent cook that appears hour after hour.\u00a0 Jeff Taylor has a wonderful cameo as the company sergeant major.\u00a0 The men eat, smoke and drink all to excess since there is nothing else to do in between being on duty. There is tension, sadness and constant fear but stories and laughter too.<\/p>\n The performances from the nine strong ensemble are exceptionally good with brilliant performances from many. The sound design (Stephen Dietz) really set the tone of the play and rather than drown us with constant fire, gave us deafening bombardment to spectacular effect, when necessary, but mostly, just eerie silence and pops of distant shells.\u00a0 The end of the journey is a sad one, but the story of the journey is highly recommended, due to Dunn\u2019s magnificent staging and his sterling ensemble cast.\u00a0 Everything about this production has been rendered with a sensitivity and craftsmanship that represents theatre at its finest.<\/p>\n Journey\u2019s End<\/em> runs January 16, 2014-February 16, 2014.\u00a0 Regular Thursday performances are at 7:30 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. All performances are held at the Barn Theatre, home of the Ross Valley Players, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA.\u00a0 For tickets, call 415-456-9555, extension 1 or go to www.rossvalleyplayers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Coming up next at Ross Valley Players will be Arms and the Man <\/em>by George Bernard Shaw and directed by Cris Cassell, March 14-April 13, 2014.<\/p>\n Flora Lynn Isaacson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tom Hudgens, David Yen & Francis Serpa in Journey’s End at RVP. \u00a0Photo by Robin Jackson. \u00a0[rating:4] (4\/5 stars) Ross Valley Players presents the West Coast Premiere of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","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":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-flora-lynn-isaacson"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"