Set on a farm near Lebanon, Missouri following the Vietnam war, Lanford Wilson’s play, “Fifth of July,” centers around the Talley family and their friends. Opening here at Plymouth State University on April 10, the show will continue to run through the weekend.
The show features a small cast of eight; Kenneth Talley, played by Bill Viau. Jed Jenkins, played by Graham MacDonald, June Talley, played by Angela Smith. Sally Friedman, played by Christine Titus, John Landis, played by Paul Hartwell, Gwen, played by Rebecca Rudolf and Weston Hurley, who is played by Andrew Codispoti.
Paul Mroczka, a professor at PSU and also the director of Fifth of July, got his BA in English and another in Drama from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. Also, an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts- Dramatic Writing from Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., and a Ph.D. in Theatre History, Literature, Theory and Criticism at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. “You could say I’m all degreed out,” Mroczka said.
On the decision to direct the show, Mroczka said, “I’ve always admired Lanford Wilson’s work… Director of Theatre, Beth Cox, brought the title up to me last year and I jumped at the suggestion. I loved the characters and story. Also, Wilson’s style is very Chekovian, and I’m always attracted to that. The play is about unconditional love and being willing to take the ultimate risk– to expose your vulnerability. These are important themes with which I have a personal connection. It was the right project at the right time in my life.”
“The company. The actors, assistant director, and stage managers [are my biggest reasons for directing]. At times it’s been very moving. My directing process tends to be extremely intimate. Sitting down with an actor to discuss a line, while everyone waits around for a minute or two. Giving the actor something new to play or a question to think about or offering a specific technique without anyone else knowing what will happen when we go back to the scene. The whole company has been open to this type of process. But, my absolute favorite part of this show has been the fun we’ve had. We’ve laughed a lot. It can get kind of irreverent and other times just plain silly. When you can work hard and laugh, you know you’ve got something good going on. Each person involved in this show has been self motivated, making my job simply a treat.” Mroczka said.
He added, “I’m so happy to be working with so many students for whom Fifth of July is their last show at PSU. These students are part of an exceptional theatre class that’s graduating this year. I directed many in the first show they did here– Temptations. It’s an honor to work with them and the entire company.”
Julie-Anne Whitney, a senior Theatre Arts major at PSU, is the assistant director for “The Fifth of July.” “For the first time since I’ve been a student here, I wasn’t cast in a show this semester and that freed me up to work on the show in a new kind of role. About a week or so after Paul cast “Fifth of July” he asked me if I wanted to assistant direct. At first, I was hesitant to accept his offer because the cast members are my friends and directing them would put all of us in a somewhat awkward position, but I was reassured that there have been other student AD’s before and they found a way to make it work and so would I. And I think I have, but a major part of that has been the cast’s acceptance of me, they’re very respectful of my position,” she said.
“Words meander on like ripples on a lazy lake-yet the words, this fabric of conversation, really do establish a place, a time and an atmosphere. Here perhaps is the true comparison with [Anton] Chekhov. Eight people, all subtly interlinked, talking with a special dramatic innocence… You see them bounce off one another like clowns and acrobats… You find yourself fascinated by these people,” Clive Barnes, a drama and dance critic for the New York Post said.
Fifth of July will be performed at the Silver Center for the Arts’ Studio Theatre tonight, Fri, April 11 at 8:00p.m., Sat. April 12 at 2:00p.m. and 8:00p.m., and Sunday April 13 at 2:00p.m.