Frankly Franklin

Whether it’s from the exalted professional heights of theatre pioneers, or illuminated by the humble footlights of amateur productions, the stage has a special place in Franklin County.

All around the country, playhouses are shutting their doors and turning off their lights. Movies, television, the internet, have all but kicked to the curb the joy of the stage play, and so the money, and the spirit to perform live, is drying up in support of an art form that is the foundation for all the performing arts.

It is an unfortunate consequence of the flattening and coarsening of our tastes, of the impersonal nature of our pursuits, to where we are no longer interested in experiencing up close, warts and all, the sight and the sound of actors capturing the human experience.

But such is not entirely the case here in Franklin County, and nowhere was that more evident than in three shows that graced audiences last month.

To begin was the one closest to the grassroots, the second show of the year for the Panhandle Players, a still-vibrant community theatre that continues to bring to life the tears and laughter that live theatre draws.

This time it was “Seeing Stars in Dixie,” a warm and funny, but not side-splitting comedy by Ron Osborne, staged the last weekend of January at the Eastpoint Firehouse.

Unfortunately, during intermission, no one left their seats, so I had to continue the stand the entire time. That’s right, standing room only, a testament to the desire out in the community for quality productions such as was ably directed by Margy Oehlert.

With not a whole lot of room to work with, the actors showed what live theatre is all about, the flash and roll of eyes, the shuffle of feet, the glow of smiles, all right there in front of you.

Melonie Inzetta, in her stage debut as Clemmie, the café owner who eyes a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be in a movie with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift, showed the poise and promise that is what taking a chance in front of a live audience is all about.  She wasn’t polished as an actress, but you could feel her presence, and delight in her happiness, and that helped to anchor the show’s poignancy.

New to the local stage, but certainly not to the theater, Melanie Humble as the catty and snobbish Marjorie, secure that she has been anointed by the culture police for the role in the movie, excelled in her unpleasant role, suitably snotty and condescending as she lilted around the café as if she owned it.

Laura Baney as Tootie, the tougher-edged, no-nonsense newspaper woman, showed how much she has grown as an actress in her roles with the Panhandle Players. When she said she was ready to slap Marjorie, the bane of her existence, you could feel the cheek smack that never came. This is a testimony to Baney’s performance, which shone in all its realistic energy and clear, forceful delivery.

Panhandle Players veteran Hank Kozlowsky, as Teddy Glease, was light in the loafers as the only male in the cast, but not overtly effeminate, as he captured the delicacy of a man we only later learn is sweet on Clemmie. Kozlowsky knows what he’s doing out there, and navigated the waters with an even keel and a steady pace.

Perhaps most delightful was Megan Lamb as Jo Beth, a wannabe, but hopelessly, inept weather girl on the local television station who brought to the production some of the most comic lines. Lamb played her part as an energetic coquette with one of the most necessary qualities for a successful performance, enthusiasm. An audience will embrace a character if an actor truly wants them to, and Lamb has learned to draw out their attention with just the right affectations.

Running in repertory as the Dixie Theatre was the less hilarious, and sadder, production of “Love Letters.” This work by A. R. Gurney featured just two professional actors, Dixie Partington and Terry Wells, and the two showed just what can be accomplished by two people who sit the entire time and read, back and forth, to the audience.

Such was a constraint that would have bedeviled amateur actors, the inability to move or gesture, and likely would have quashed any hope for an enjoyable afternoon. But the two actors, both seasoned stage performers, were wonderful in their understatement, with Wells properly staid and distant in the male role, and Partington tragically manic and emotional as the female. Neither spoke too loud, or sawed the air, or made wild inflections with their voice, and that made the subdued pain of the story come even more alive.

The pinnacle of the productions, and one that sadly too many theatregoers missed, was Cleo Holladay Partington’s wonderful one-woman show, “Our Life in the Theatre - A Journey,” which recounted her adventures with the last great gentleman of the theatre, her late husband Rex.

With giant photos projected overhead, this accomplished professional actress, still vibrant in her golden years, showed the shine, and delivery, and presence, and effortlessness, and charm that graced her career. Her retelling of the story of a man who had an important impact on regional theatre in America was a wondrous and engrossing tale, enhanced by her interwoven story of her own life as an actress.

Edward Everett Horton, Nick Nolte, Magda and Eva Gabor, Tyrone Guthrie, Jerry Stiller, and many others were all part of the story, accentuated with apt details and entertaining anecdotes that made the entire afternoon time that went quickly, and was well-spent.

We are fortunate to still have the Partington family with us, to keep alive professional theatre in the county, and to have dedicated community actors to follow in their footsteps.

This is not to say there aren’t struggles, and possible rough times ahead, but as long as there remains a strong and vibrant thread of dedication to the stage, we will not be let down.