Vincent van Gogh? Wasn't he the guy who painted a few masterpieces, cut off his ear and killed himself? Vincent in Brixton, a 2003 Best Play Tony nominee runs through Sunday March 7 at the Cleveland Playhouse, helps fill some of the voids of the great painter's life. The play, written by Nicholas Wright and wonderfully crafted for the stage and directed by Clevelander Seth Gordon, tells the touching and peculiar love story of Vincent van Gogh and Ursula Loyer. The production features 4 actors who are part of The Cleveland Playhouse/Case Western Reserve University Professional Actor Training Program.
The story helps us imagine Vincent before he started painting, before he "eventually turned into someone who would become first of all a genius and second of all an emotionally desperate person" according to Mr. Gordon. This desperate personality is evident early in the play and contributes to Vincent's romantic attachment to a woman more than 25 years his senior.
Vincent (Simon Kendall) arrives in Brixton and takes a room in the widow Loyer's (Beth Dixon) home. He is a God-fearing country boy in the big city for the first time and his experiences during this period (1873-76) lead ultimately to his discovery that he wants to be a painter. His initial attraction is to the widow's daughter, Eugenie (Virginia Donohoe), but he learns she cares only for the Loyer's other boarder, artist Sam Plowman (Patrick Jones). This gives Vincent the opportunity to spend more time with Ursula and so begins his attachment to the widow Loyer, who reluctantly allows her emotions free from her black clad existence and warms to the blunt and boorish Vincent. The visit by Vincent's sister Anna (Emily Frazier Klingensmith) provides some of the play's direct comedy although all the characters get a chance to make the audience laugh. This aspect of the play came as a complete and extremely welcome surprise.
Throughout the play, set in the widow Loyer's active kitchen (complete with running water and cast iron stove), there is a simmering undercurrent of anticipation and excitement for the audience. One, because we don't know what actually happened during this period and two because we know what actually does happen just following this period of time. The play captures that moment for us, perfectly staged in the kitchen, when Vincent crosses over from simple-minded underachiever to nascent genius.
Visit the Cleveland Playhouse website at http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com or call 795-7000 for ticket information. Also, check out the actor and creative team biographies to learn more about these creative Clevelanders. from Cool Cleveland contributor Tom Perrino tperrino@legalplans.com
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