Is it real or is it Memorex? This was the tag-line of a famous commercial for recording materials some years ago. The premise was that the quality of the recording was so good that one could not tell which was the 'live' version, if you will. This is the glory of live performance; it is never exactly the same any two times it is done, regardless of how much practice goes into the mix. Conversely, it is also the 'glory' of film, or anything recorded for broadcast at a later time. It is never different—it is always exactly the same, ad infinitum.

Of course, a theatrical or concert performance can be filmed/recorded (and they frequently are!) providing valuable mementos or keepsakes. In their own way, these electronic devices keep memory alive for those who couldn't see the original. But what happens when there is no original to be filmed or recorded?

Amy's View by Sir David Hare, now on stage at Dobama Theatre is very 'live', by the way. Just as one would not want to give up taped or filmed versions of any performance, neither should we want to abandon 'live' theatre or concerts.

During a talkback after the performance, reference was made to the many 'threads' used by the playwright in this script. Several times it was likened to a tapestry. Okay, but in that case, to me it seemed that too many of these threads were of a fiber incompatible with all the others used. There are so many plot lines in these four short acts (performed as two longer acts, with one intermission) that too many of them get very short shrift, leaving the audience a tad confused.

Londoner Esmé Allen, a widow for several years, is one of the last of her breed; a theatre actress larger than life. Now, at the age of 49, she bemoans the lack of good parts for women, as she hangs on, living with and caring for Evelyn, her aging mother-in-law, while her daughter Amy makes a life for herself in London.

The play opens to reveal that Amy has brought her friend Dominic to meet Esmé, hoping that these two people—the most important to her in the world—will at least like each other. Dominic has no use for the theatre, however, believing film to be the more important—and relevant—medium. Adding insult to injury, Amy reveals that she is pregnant even though she has not yet shared this important fact with Dominic.

Amy and Dominic marry; they have two children. Esmé's career dwindles, as does her fortune, due to bad investment advice from her new lover and neighbor, Frank. Evelyn develops Alzheimer's. Pangbourne becomes ever more urban and less sylvan. Esmé is reduced to working on a medical soap opera—on TV. Dominic leaves Amy for a Swedish actress. And life goes on. The four acts are set in, respectively, 1979, 1985, 1993 and 1995.

With less-talented actors, this play could rapidly deteriorate into a talk-fest, but Director Sonya Robbins keeps the pace brisk while finding the humanity in the script. Catherine Albers as Esmé captures the essence of the diva in marvelous fashion with her expressive face and broad gestures. She may be flighty, but she's also very down-to-earth when it matters, most especially when caring for Evelyn or explaining about the loss of her money. Ursula Korneitchouk ages gracefully as Evelyn, until the final stages of her disease rob her of everything but life itself.

As Dominic, Todd Krispinsky loses his early brashness, maturing into the bereaved husband/son-in-law that Esmé might have come to like quite well, had they not lost Amy in the process. Robert Hawkes as Frank is steadfast in his love for Esmé, even if his financial advice might have been improved upon. His wry, dry humor is exquisite. In the short final scene, Tom Weaver deftly blends the naïveté of the ingenue to the openness of the eager-to-please young actor role of Toby.

Incandescent in the title role of Amy, Derdriu Ring will also break your heart as she struggles with her mother as the past and Dominic who is her future. She cannot win, no matter what, but bravely sets forth to do her best. The Amy's View of the title is delineated for us in two ways: first, the small paper she wrote and produced as a child; and second, her philosophy of life as related by Dominic to Esmé: "...Amy's famous view that love conquers all—you have to love people. You just have to love them. You have to give love without any conditions at all. Just give it. And one day you will be rewarded."

Maybe.

As usual, Dobama's space is well served by the set design of Michael Louis Grube and enhanced by the Props of David Schneider. Lighting by Andrew Kaletta and Sound by Richard Ingraham are excellent throughout, but especially so in the last scene which takes place in a small fringe theatre. Dana Romeo's costume design not only perfectly illustrates the various years in which the action takes place, but the ever-present theatricality of Esmé, off-stage as well as on.

The acting throughout is excellent. Not only do they all look the part, the actors appear to become the characters they play. Still, I was puzzled by the lack of one important ingredient. For a play that deals entirely with emotion and passion and love, why is there so little physical contact between the actors? Esmé and Amy hug—very briefly—twice. Amy and Dominic kiss—again briefly—once or twice, almost in passing. I don't recall any direct contact between Frank and Esmé. The duos seem to always be standing at opposite sides of the room, talking at or to each other. Why are they so distant? How sad that Amy's View was so often shuttered.

Amy's View continues at Dobama Theatre through March 21. For tickets or more information, call 932-3396 or visit the web-site: http://www.dobama.org from Cool Cleveland reader Kelly Ferjutz

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