Triad Stage triumphs with "Anna Christie"

GREENSBORO, NC -- I went to see Triad Stage's production of Eugene O'Neil's Anna Christie on Saturday.

O'Neil's plays famously give actors and audiences plenty to chew on. With Anna Christie he takes us on a soul wrenching exploration of failed people certain they are beyond redemption and what they discover about the restorative power of forgiveness, both extended to others and given to ourselves.

It would be easy to take the serious themes of Anna Chrsitie and sink a production into one-dimensional gloom. Under Preston Lane's able direction, however, the play succeeds brilliantly at reaching the depths of existential angst while bobbing back up to moments of glimmering hope and twinkles of love. This beautiful interplay has us wondering until the very end if we are in for a tragic or uplifting story.

The play's real triumph is the acting. It is not easy to draw characters who are, in many ways, repugnant and yet have us pulling for them. To be at once convincingly decayed and yet inspire affection and hope, as does this cast, requires a complexity that is often out of reach for all but the best of professionals. Gardner Reed as the prodigal Anna and Gordon Joseph Weiss as Chris, her drunken barge captain father, craft such overwhelmingly complete and robust characters that they manage the rare feat of being more real than real whilst maintaining believability and credibility. Truly, these are awe inspiring performances.

Supporting actors Christine Morris, a professor at UNC-Greensboro, as Chris' crusty drinking buddy and Matthew Bellows as Anna's hothead suitor deliver compelling performances. Morris also was the production's vocal coach. Weiss and Reed's characters were enthralling in no small part because of their voices. From Weiss' wonderfully authentic Norwegian accent and Anna's perfectly blended Norwegian-born/Minnesota-raised dialect, to Weiss' snorts and chortles and Anna's breathy sobs, to the extent these perfected vocals were fostered by Morris' coaching, her greatest contribution may have been off stage.

Anna Christie runs through March 2nd. Tickets may be purchased online. The play is presented in three-quarter round which might tempt one to avoid seats on the sides, but the production was blocked (staged) so well that sight lines were never a problem from our seats stage right and, since this is where one is closest to the stage, you may find you enjoy, as did I, the more intimate proximity of section 101 (or section 211, stage left). No matter where you sit, Anna Christie is a great story with stellar performances. You should not miss it.