SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 20, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Some people go to the theater for breezy comedies and dainty confections. Others buy tickets for dense dramas fraught with big questions and thought-provoking themes.
If you’re looking for escapism in Pioneer Memorial Theatre’s world premiere of “Two Dollar Bill,” you’d be well advised to hide elsewhere.
The show, by T.J. Brady, tells the hard-hitting story of Bill Dudley (actor Mark Zimmerman), an Ivy League professor of military history, who may have to face the long-delayed consequences of an ethical decision he made decades earlier. His secret, if revealed, could change his life and the lives of everyone close to him.
Those who might go down with him include coworker and partner Jessica (Lesley Fera) and graduate assistant Ron (Corey Allen). And cheering a potential downfall would be student Megan (Ephie Aardema), disgruntled for reasons of her own.
The show opened with a class lecture/monologue that showed Dudley to be an insightful professor, affable and determined to teach critical thinking along with history. The audience gets to see Dudley at his warmest and most connected at this point.
But as disturbing news is revealed, a chill settles over the rest of the production. Characters will end up shouting long, wordy lines and arguing at length over complex concepts.
Which is fine, you might say, adding that you adore theater that challenges your mind and sends you home with a doggie bag of meaty concepts to savor.
The problem is that the verbal sparring in “Two Dollar Bill” misses its mark far too many times. As Dudley, Zimmerman rushes through his lines, stumbling on words often. He rarely pauses his delivery or modulates his voices enough to add emphasis or meaning to key lines and arguments.
Fera, as Jessica, has shorter speeches, and seems to do better with adding meaning, but the two main characters seemed disengaged with each other and with the audience. Several times, when characters faced opposite directions to hide emotions from each other, one faced the back wall, also hiding emotions from the audience that really wanted to be drawn in.
Audience-friendly blocking by director Matt August could have made a big difference in the show’s emotional impact.
Allen, as graduate assistant Ron, gave a strong performance, but also missed several opportunities to show down and take full advantage of the powerful moments in his role. Aardema, as student Megan, had the smallest role but the most in-your-face character, and took good advantage of the lines given to her.
Acting almost as another character was the scene-stealing set by James Wolk. The high-end, old-wood look of the professor’s academic office invoked feelings of wealth, prestige, and ivory tower inflexibility.
And “Two Dollar Bill” really is packed with important ideas and ethical themes worthy of lively debate. Audience members may just have to work harder than they would have if they’d had the actors’ and director’s full support.
IF YOU GO
- What: ‘Two Dollar Bill’
- Where: Pioneer Memorial Theatre, 300 S. 1400 East, Salt Lake City
- When: 7:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, through Jan. 30
- Tickets: $25-$44/advance, $5 more/door; 801-6961 or pioneertheatre.org
