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Theater review: ‘The Pavilion,’ by RiverStage Community Theatre

LEWISBURG – Peter and Kari were once the “cutest couple” of sweethearts who, although not having seen each other since high school, don’t need nametags when meeting at their 20th class reunion in “The Pavilion,” the latest production from RiverStage Community Theatre, opening Friday at the Lewisburg Hotel, 136 Market St.

The production has 7:30 p.m. performances Friday and Saturday, with a 2:30 p.m. matinee Sunday. Friday and Sunday’s shows will be in the second floor ballroom and Saturday’s performance, because of a scheduling conflict, will be on the fourth floor, which is not handicap-accessible.

Emmy Award-nominated television writer Craig Wright (“Lost,” “Six Feet Under”) has set Pine City High School’s reunion in an old wooden dance pavilion, slated to be demolished after the reunion.

Peter is a successful young therapist, hoping for Kari’s forgiveness so as to win her back after skipping out of town and heading off to college upon receiving news of Kari’s unexpected pregnancy. Although stuck in a stagnant marriage to a golf pro, Kari is still angry and deeply resentful, wanting nothing to do with Peter’s proposed reconciliation.

“The Pavilion,” like RiverStage’s last production, “Dinner With Friends,” features a very small cast. Included in Donald Marguiles’ “Dinner With Friends” four-person cast were three associated with the current production: Isaac Conner, making his directing debut; Virginia Zimmerman, as Kari; and Jove Graham as the Narrator. Steve Aquirre completes the cast as Peter.

Sometimes compared as playing like an ” ‘Our Town’ for our times” – likely because of similarities using a manager or narrator and several minor characters – “The Pavilion” has a pivotal Narrator who often addresses the audience while playing 16 other alums that interact with the sparring protagonists.

Some first attendees of “The Pavilion” may initially be a bit turned off, as the play begins with the Narrator giving a history of the universe – but these lyrical ruminations set the scene and nicely aligns the characters. “The Pavilion” is a play about time, and how the passage of decades can not really change the consequences of choices that Peter and Kari made 20 years ago.

In the director’s chair for the first time, Conner nicely acquits himself, thanks in part to his obvious concern for detail and the veteran three-person cast.

Graham shows his versatility playing the Narrator, addressing the audience at the beginning of both acts and throughout the play. However, without wigs or female attire, Graham interacting as several alums is sometimes a bit confusing. Touches of humor come from his characters, male and female, who range from a turkey farmer turned suicide hotline worker to a cynical minister, a gung-ho reunion coordinator and a police chief bent on killing the pot-smoking mayor.

With many inflections in his voice, Graham smoothly segues into each of the quirky reuniongoers.

Zimmerman gives the most dramatic performance as the lonely Kari, bemoaning her fate. Her best moments are at the end of Act I, where, in an expletive-laced rant, she confronts Peter, accusing him of never growing up.

As Peter, Aquirre adeptly plays the guitar while singing to his former classmates. Although desperate, he sometimes underplays his role a bit, not always fully showing how Peter is wracked with guilt.

This review is based upon a viewing of a rehearsal days before the opening when certain lighting and sound cues were still being worked out. There is the music in the background, a glittering crystal ball hanging overhead and a sea of stars effectively shining through the blackened sky. With minimal staging in place, Act I is set inside the pavilion, and Act II occurs at a dock along the lake.

RiverStage’s production is a solid, quiet dramatization of changing landscape, both of “The Pavilion” where Peter and Kari exchange meaningful glances, and the couple’s efforts to change, futile because of their squandered time apart

For more information or to buy tickets, call 570-506-8423 or visit www.riverstagetheatre.org.

Starting at $2.99/week.

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