Poetic angst Poetic angst (May 27, 2005)

'Savages' solid cast finds inspiration in the lives of Plath, Hughes, Sexton and Lowell

by Jeanie Forte

Local playwright Amy Freed named "The Psychic Life of Savages" after Freud's famous treatise on the psychological similarity between savages and neurotics.

Her characters, whom she brings to life on the Pear Avenue Theatre stage, are all poets who more than vaguely resemble actual famous poets. They are indeed neurotic, and at times rather savage, but also at times brilliant and inspired. Through their dysfunction, Freed examines the curse of creativity and genius, especially in a society that is ambivalent towards artists and fickle with fame.

She writes wickedly funny dialogue, skewering stereotypes and blasting pedestrian attitudes about poets, while also giving them a loving, poignant touch. There's a lot of profanity -- totally appropriate for the characters -- and a lot of pills and booze and loose sexuality. The play packs an emotional wallop -- one moment hysterically funny; full of searing insight in the next.

The four main characters are not exact representations of their poetic counterparts; they're more iconic, almost like avatars of a particular type.

Robert Stoner (Tom Ammon) stands in for Robert Lowell, the granddaddy of poets who made a success of the poetic life, serving as Poet Laureate and actually achieving widespread recognition during his lifetime. Through Stoner, Freed explores the shadowy side of fame and the pressure to surpass earlier success. Stoner struggles with image and authenticity; his sexual dalliances fuel his own myth-making in a way that even his wife sees the necessity for them. He's an idol with feet of clay, a figure doomed by disappointment.

Ammon is spot-on in his characterization, giving us part inflated ego and part raging insecurity. He unerringly captures the successful artist's dichotomy: the strain of maintaining the larger-than-life image versus the desire to create.

His counterpart is Anne Bittenhand (Diane Tasca), clearly based on Anne Sexton, a boozy, promiscuous woman desperate to live outside of convention and terrified of aging. She embarks on an affair with Robert as a way of affirming her own talent, but it has unexpected consequences. Tasca gives a superb performance, all brass and Bohemian bravado on the outside, frayed nerves and paralyzing resignation on the inside. Her final scene is chilling, with an air of inevitability about it.

Ted Magus (Kevin J. Kelley) stands in for Ted Hughes, the quintessential ego-driven poet, macho and mannered, comfortable with fame and the rewards it brings (young girls), confident in his poetic gift. He's a devourer, whose outsized ego casts a pall on lesser talents. Kelley's achievement is to make Magus sympathetic: We see his faults and foibles, but we also see his vulnerability and his downfall.

Freed leads us to believe, early on, that Sylvia Fluellen (Jennifer Erdmann), obviously Sylvia Plath, may be the raisonneur of the play, the character who speaks for the playwright. She stands out from the ego-driven poets, speaking plain, unpopular truths, holding others to a standard of honesty they'd rather avoid. She refuses to play their poetry games and insists on her version of ethical behavior -- which seems an impossible ideal.

Fluellen/Plath is also unsure of her own gift, but finds her voice after visitations from Emily Dickinson's ghost (Pat Tyler). These very funny conversations guide Sylvia to an original, fresh style which she hopes will bring her fame posthumously. It's not until her demise that you realize the playwright has more to say than simply the value of honesty.

Erdmann is perfectly cast, a fearless performer who is utterly believable, with equal strengths in comedy and drama. Her Sylvia is never maudlin or moony, just slightly out of whack, living her deadly neurosis with zeal and conviction.

The ensemble is thankfully as strong as the four leads. Tyler is marvelously zany as Dickinson and long-suffering as Stoner's wife, Vera. There's a memorable moment in a long, slow fade of light as Robert and Anne embark on their affair, revealing her pain.

Amy Provenzano does quadruple duty: as Rebecca, an asylum inmate; one of Ted's students; Anne's daughter, Kit-Kat; and a Stoner groupie. She deftly manages quick, lucid character transitions. As Kit-Kat, she's all too real -- the neglected daughter who is old enough to protest. Troy Johnson skillfully inhabits five characters, including a hapless radio interviewer, Anne's henpecked husband and another Stoner fan. He even goes drag for some hilarious scenes as a love-struck student in Ted's college poetry seminars.

The set looks simple but is oddly complex. Sometimes the scene changes take too long -- a flaw that might have been alleviated by eliminating one of the scenic elements, such as the huge doors. Snappier transitions would definitely add to the play's chaotic zaniness. Nevertheless, the soundtrack of late '50s and early '60s hits cleverly enhances the action. And period costumes are excellent matches with character.

I don't want to reveal the play's end, but can say that after all the laughter it finds a dark resting place. The inquiry into the poet's psyche is ultimately an elegy, a dirge for the difficulty of fulfilling the creative urge. The fabulous cast, under Rebecca Ennals' fine direction, brings these wonderfully neurotic creatures to life, and also brings home Freed's humorously sad commentary on the conflicted life of artists in our culture.

What: "The Psychic Life of Savages." Written by Amy Freed, the play draws on the biographies and writings of poets Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton and Ted Hughes.

Where: Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear Ave., Unit K in Mountain View

When: Through June 5. Show times are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $10-$20.

Info: Call (650) 254-1148 or visit www.thepear.org.

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