Gypsy Lew Theater’s 
debut at Guthries
entertains, engages

LEWISTON — Gypsy Lew Theater of Lewiston staged its debut, a full-length play called “Abundance” by Beth Henley, at Guthries Independent Theater on Park Street in Lewiston recently.

Adventure-seeking main character Macon Hill’s “Glory be!” exclamation as the mail-order bride is about to enter her journey to the Plains of the Western frontier is an equally fitting reaction to the addition of Gypsy Lew to the local theater scene.

Entertainment and engagement is what ensued for the next two hours for the closely seated audience in the living-room style space of Guthries Independent Theater.

The play itself is a provocative story told in short scenes that chronicle the lives and (mis)adventures of two young mail-order brides in the late 1800s as they set out to a future filled with uncertainty, aspirations of success and naïve notions of song-filled romance.

The inspired actors, Mary Randall and Emily Grotz, played the central roles of the brides-to-be, Macon Hill and Bess Johnson. These two impassioned performances set the bar high with an evident chemistry that conveyed simply and sweetly what it means to have a best friend through thick and thin, bounty and betrayal.

Complicated by the challenges of life on the Plains, as well as through the extraordinary turn of events in Bess’s kidnapping by Indians, Mary and Emily’s portrayals of these hardened women surprised and astounded as they conquered role reversals around love, success, poverty and jealousy.

The integral women’s relationship was the foundation for all other relationships in the play, and each additional “Abundance” actor continued to mirror unfailing commitment to their unique characters. Ezra Damm, who played Jack Flan, immediately introduced himself as a lazy and selfish bully, but as time goes on, it’s his incredulous nonchalant self, blithely taking what is and isn’t his, following the next best thing, that makes him the man you love to hate, but somehow admire, too. Van Beckman does a notable job as true-and-honest William Curtis, though his intentions to include his new wife in his life crosses the line by sharing past and present visions of one too many mangled parts.

Director Glynnis Nadel and her production team made sure that each scene was a story unto itself as they meticulously captured the unfolding conflicts through use of space, authentic selection of costumes and props, line delivery and palpable connections between characters, as well as with the West.

Additionally, the simple set, under score of acoustic guitar and scene changes done in stark silhouette, maintained the tension and mood as the play progressed. Scene titles of Western lettering font on a multimedia desert Plains backdrop kept the time and place for the audience as well as provided a moment’s reprieve and swift separation of where we as audience members stood as the plot intensified.

In the end, this intriguing and well-delivered play was about survival. After this solid debut, Gypsy Lew Theater’s survival is not in question. Instead, the question is: What will they do next?

Julie Middleton is drama director at Hebron Academy.