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Salesman an easy sell
Chatham Drama
Guild shines with
interpretation of a
classic
By Heather Wysocki
hwysocki@barnstablepatriot.com
ROBERT TUCKER/FOCALPOINT STUDIO PHOTO
ENGAGING SELL - Garry Mitchell, June Taylor, Ken Nardone, and Rich Kovacs
spin an interesting, worthwhile tale in Chatham Drama Guild's Death of a
Salesman.
It's no Horatio Alger story. No
rags-to-riches tale, either. But
Chatham Drama Guild'sproduc-
tion of Arthur Miller'sDeath of a
Salesman can bring out avariety
of emotions in any theatergoer.
No matter what feeling is
inspired by Salesman , director
Scott Hamilton's interpretation
of a classic American drama is a
worthwhile, engaging, and ulti-
mately eye-opening experience.
Centered on the perpetually
downtrodden WillyLoman (Garry
Mitchell) and his similarly de-
feated family, this is the tale of
one man's American dream that
never came true. Willy, a lifelong
salesmanwhose only wishwasthe
admiration of others,reaches old
age and realizes his life has been
a series of letdowns.
With his sons,career,and popu-
larityless successful than he had
ever believed possible,Willyturns
from hislife and beginsto live only
in his past, one he believes was
made up of fulfillment, success,
and appreciation.
Becoming more and more lost
in his own world as the play un-
furls, Willy eventually succumbs
to his grief andleaves hisfamilyto
wonder what fife is really about.
Mitchell , as Willy, is simply
outstanding. His interpretation
of the downtrodden protagonist
isreason enough- althoughthere
are others -to seethe play.Mitch-
ell is self-assured, well-voiced ,
and completely at home on the
stage.
From the beginning to the
end, he becomes the character,
and embodies the play's tone of
utter despair. One almost comes
to believe that Mitchell himself is
suffering these delusions.
As Linda, Willy's wife, Jane
Taylor brings almost as much
to the stage. Toward the begin-
ning of the play, Linda seems the
quintessential housewife: doting,
quiet, and accepting. As the play
slips deeper into Willy's delu-
sions, however, she is revealed
as stronger than the audience
first believes.
Taylor transitionsthe character
from anidealistic wifeto amourn-
ing widow quite believably. She
seems to struggle with the idea
that Linda's relations with Willy
would become strained as well,
and continues to play the dutiful
wife all along.
Biff (Rich Kovacs) and Happy
(Ken Nardone) embody the idea
of aging brothers still struggling
with their father's expectations
for them. As each confronts his
own shortcomings, they also in-
teract and confront their father's
as well. Their arguments and
heart-to-hearts bring another
level to the play.
Indeed, even the characters in
Willy's delusions add to the idea
that, perhaps , it isn't just acting
after all. Willy's neighbors Ber-
nard (Joe Bishop) and Charley
(Stefan Vogel), his old mistress
(Jan Richmond), hisdead brother
Ben (Phil Fetzer), and other per-
sonalities from his past interact
with each other and Willy, seam-
lessly blending the past and the
present in Willy's mind.
Even characters that don't ap-
pear in his past seem to further
confuse Willy. Fran DeVasto as
Willy's self-absorbed boss and
Tara Dedie as a snotty female
companion of Happy 's seem to
complete Willy's feeling that his
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
Snapshot history of
Osterville is out
Authors tell stories
of summer visitors
and year-rounders
By Brad Lynch
arts@barnstablepatriot com
A newspaper reporter who lives
in Cotuit has just published a
history of Osterville.
Shirley Eastman came to Cape
Cod 10years ago from New Jersey,
where she worked for the Morris-
town Daily Record , apaper about
the same size as the Cape Cod
Times. Eastman and her husband
Jim retired to the Cape from his
work as an engineer at AT&T,
and she began a new career as
a free lance writer for the Times
and regional magazines such as
Cape Cod Life .
Osterville is the latest of Barn-
stable 'sseven villages to have its
portrait presented in a volume
of prose and pictures by the
Arcadia group. This company
produces and publishes original
paperbacks of just about any
community that wants its history
told in an attractive edition made
for casual browsing.
The publisher works with a
local institution ,
in this case, the | ^.
.
Osterville
Historical ,'£
Society, to Ag
s p o n s o r Im
lication tm •* ¦ 4
carries no \B$jpi
arts and taP-v V-JS
thus depends on sales revenue;
retail price $19.95). The Historical
Society found its author-editor
because her husband has been
active in the Society and is its
past president.
Eastman enjoyed the experi-
ence of writing text and captions
and selecting the photographs.
The publisher requires a degree
of sameness in the content of
each book. Each one has the
same number of pages (130) and
pictures (200) as every other Ar-
cadia community history to keep
costs down.
Paul Chesbro of Osterville was
a valued contributor who gave
Eastman access to. and use of,
his collection of photographs
assembled for his three-volume
history of the village up to the
post-World War years.
The span of Eastman's book is
from 1620 through World War II.
It begins with the Pilgrims, led
by Myles Standish, their warrior
chief , exploring the mid-Cape:
area and meeting with local In-
dians who traded them most of
the land now within Osterville;
Cotuit and areas of Barnstable.
I CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
Ship out with
Cape Cod
Maritime Days
Capewide events culmi-
nate in Maritime Festival in
Hyannis
By Heather Wysocki
hwysocki@barnstablepartriot.corr
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
PARTOF THE ART HERSELF - Local artist Liz Mumford
seems to merge with the harborscape she's painting
at last year 's Maritime Festival.
Cape residents have been making alivingfrom
the sea for hundreds of years. Some people ,
though,still find this seafaring historysomewhat
fishy.
For landlubbers from off-Cape and on,the 13th
annualCape Cod Maritime Daysis an opportunity
to dive into deep traditions.
"It's a great way to celebrate the heritage that
makes Cape Cod unique," said Kristen McMe-
namy, vice president of tourism marketing for
the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. "There 's
a lot that the Cape has to offer."
To drum up tourism during the spring and fall
seasons,in 1993the Cape Cod Commission began
Maritime Days. Celebrations, demonstrations,
and rooming packages were offered to off-Cape
residents interested in the region's heritage.
In 2004, the Cape Cod Chamber took over the
celebration and expanded advertising to include
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
A Story of
Courage,
Community, and
War
By Nathan Philbrick
Penguin Group (USA),
New York City, 2006
Hardback , 461 pgs. ,
$29.95
By Brad Lynch
arts@barnstablepatriot@cape.com
How barren , how cold
were the Pilgrims'prospects
when they asked their God,
"What next?" and looked
out on an empty Provinc-
etown after the Mayflower
made landfall on Nov. 11.
1620.
Home was an ocean away.
They had left England to
seek religiousfreedom,plan-
ning never to return. Now
they must survive, or try, in
ahostile unknown world for
themselves and their fami-
lies.Who could predict what
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:8
May/lower
Eventide Arts brings
The MMMOS Project
to Cape Cod
J>L L .
.
. _
Unblinking look at killing
of Matthew Shepard does
story justice
By David Curran
arts@barnstablepatnot com
THEBUCKFENCE-Shawn 0 Neil plays Stephen Belber,here
portraying Aaron Kreifels, one of his several characters in
Eventide Arts' production of The Laramie Project, running
on The Gertrude Lawrence Stage at Dennis Union Church
through May 28.
In October 1998, the name Matthew
Shepard entered the national consciousness.
Over the next year and a half. 10 members
of New York City'sTectonic Theater Project
onnFRT Tl IPKPB/Pru-Ai oniWT QTI mm DunTO
traveled to Laramie. Wyoming six times to
listen to what the people there had to say
about the tragedy that shocked their city
-the fatal beating of Shepard , a 21-year-old
gay University of Wyoming student , at the
hands of two native sons - and to observe
its afUmiath.
The Tectonic group was in Laramie for
Shepard'sfuneral, and for the trials of Russell
Henderson and Aaron McKinney. who were
convicted of kidnapping, torturingand killing
him.The Laramie Project. Moises Kaufman's
play culled from Tectonic's more than 200
interviews, was the result.
Now, Eventide Arts of Dennis has brought
Tectonic'simportant , moving and challeng-
ing drama to Cape Cod for the first time.
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:8
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