(L to R) Amitai Marmorstein, Elizabeth Saunders & Martin Julien in Amy Lee Lavoie’s Stopheart at Factory Theatre, May 4 – 26, 2013.
Stopheart left me confused and ultimately a bit frustrated. The potential was there and there were certainly some beautiful moments but overall, everything was pushed and lacking truthfulness.
Written by Amy Lee Lavoie, Stopheart is a look at five unusual people living in the small town of South Porcupine, Ontario. The story centers on Elian Fink (Amitai Marmorstein). He has a lot to contend with. His mother Goldie (Elizabeth Saunders) is dying of a heart condition and his goofy father Cricket (Martin Julien) has built the world’s tackiest coffin, which sits in their living room. It is pimped out with an explosion of lace, stenciled flowerpots and neon lights that flash love, love, love. His parents morbidly practice Goldie’s funeral over and over again. Elian struggles with his sexuality while working at his dead end job at the local grocery store Freshiemart. He has one friend July (Vivien Endicott-Douglas), a chubby, abandoned misfit who is desperately trying to find love. She seems to want Elian as her boyfriend even though she knows he is gay. July’s ex-con brother, Bear (Garret C. Smith) shows up and Elian falls madly in love with this hunky man who is nothing but trouble.
The first act of the play was quirky and off beat and played way over the top. There were some great, witty lines and some funny choices. Act two felt as though it was an entirely different play. Suddenly, all these very heavy themes were presented without the levity presented in the first act. The contrast just did not make sense and because of the overly comedic characterizations in the first act, the overt sentimentality in the second act was almost laughable.
Ron Jenkins had his actors make very over the top acting choices. I enjoy broad acting choices but it must always be rooted in something deeply real, yet the cast never seemed to find their footing. I just wanted the characters to talk to one another, but instead I was presented with caricatures shouting and pushing moments all over the place.
Amitai Marmorstein’s didn’t find the deep fragility of Elian. I didn’t sense the struggle with his sexuality and the loneliness and pain in the first act, so when the dramatic twists in the second act occured, it didn’t unfold believably. In his death scene, he was able to muster what seemed to be an incredible amount of vocal and physical power. He did eventually have a beautiful moment in his mother’s arms where I truly did feel the pain and suffering and it brought a tear to my eye, but that needed to be weaved into his characterization from the top of the show.
Elizabeth Saunders played his mother Goldie and she was probably the most successful in bringing reality into a very broad acting style. I also mostly enjoyed Vivien Endicott-Douglas as his best friend July.
Denyse Karn created a striking set with a graffitied balcony/sterile grocery store on one side of the stage, and a cozy yet tacky homestead on the other, and a bleak forest behind. The endnote of the show looked extraordinary, set against the barren tree trunks.
Kimberly Purtell’s lighting design was a handsome complement to the production.
I saw the potential with Stopheart but it has not been fully realized. Lavoie’s script needs to be tighter and cleaner without such a disconnect between her two acts, Ron Jenkins needed to simplify his direction and the actors needed to find the truth within their larger than life characterizations. There were a few gorgeous moments, some witty lines and some strong acting choices.
For tickets or more information please visit: Factory Theatre. Stopheart runs now through May 26, 2013
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