‘Pavilion’ a reunion to remember

Reunions arrive early with Theatre Intime’s production of “The Pavilion” directed by Emma Watt ’13. Craig Wright’s 2005 three-character play is about a valiant attempt to make amends and rekindle old romance at Pine City High School’s 20th class reunion. Peter (Matt Seely ’14) has come to the gathering — held at an old performance venue in Pine City, called The Pavilion, that is scheduled to be razed the next day — in pursuit of Kari (Katherine Ortmeyer ’14), his high school sweetheart whom he left, pregnant and desperate, to go to college. Throughout the night their interactions are mediated by an unidentified narrator (Uchechi Kalu ’14).

Both Seely and Ortmeyer turn in good performances. Although at times both are a bit too stiff and static, they develop strong chemistry as the show progresses and effectively capture how their respective characters have been haunted by decisions made two decades earlier. To top it off, Seely shows off his skills with a lovely guitar solo.

Anchoring the production is Kalu’s graceful performance as the story’s narrator. Dressed unremarkably in jeans and a T-shirt (costume design by Julia Bumke ’13), she shifts effortlessly between a multitude of roles. One moment she is an old acquaintance of Peter’s (now taking calls for a 900 number) before morphing into Kari’s good friend from high school (currently fighting drug smuggling in southeast Asia), all after tossing a balloon around stage to create the universe (yes, really). She transitions between her disparate responsibilities with ease and smartly injects the show with some much-needed humor.

Although “The Pavilion” is a play with serious intentions, Watt’s production shines in how it handles Wright’s not infrequent jokes and amusing anecdotes. Most arise naturally from the setting: gossip about classmates of Peter and Kari whose lives have unraveled, quips about the impending destruction of the physical Pavilion or Kalu’s hilarious impersonations. The performance I saw was sparsely attended, but much of the audience could be heard laughing uproariously throughout the show.

Paraphrasing the narrator, Watt writes in her program notes, “When I’m in a sentimental mood ... I like to think that this is what theatre is, really: words — work — love. With these three elements, we can order universes, conjure characters and craft a story.” True to this vision, there is an appealing simplicity to Watt’s production that keeps the focus firmly on Peter and Kari’s conversations and the theatricality inherent in Wright’s chimerical narrator.

To this end, Watt opts for an almost empty stage, adorned only by a baby blue platform (intended, at least according to set designer Elise Rise ’15, to resemble a wedding cake) and the narrator’s magical balloon taped to the wall. This approach adds to the production’s sleek, unadorned feel and emphasizes the universality Wright’s script clearly seems to aim for.

Indeed, the most tedious parts of “The Pavilion” are the long passages of philosophizing delivered by the narrator. These reflections on time, attraction and regrets are hardly revelatory and often come off as overreaching attempts to establish the play as a serious piece of dramatic literature. Nevertheless, Watt and her cast do an overall strong job with the material they have to work with, and the many witty observations about the peculiarities inherent to a class reunion (along with Kari and Peter’s progressively escalating tension) more than compensate for the sappy moments. It’s not a bad choice for a production on the weekend of Winter Formals, but I think it would play even better during Reunions.

Pros: Strong acting and director's vision.