Carranor Should Stay Longer

Calaveras Enterprise - Aug.8, 2002
by Mike Taylor

If you think quality comedy/drama productions don't happen anywhere in the Mother Lode you need to run, not walk. to the Stage 3 Theatre in Sonora to see "A Short Stay at Carranor."

This wonderful play was the winner at Stage 3's Festival of New Plays last year and those voters knew what they were doing. The drama is wrenching at times and the comedy provides just enough relief from some of the heartfelt tension.

The play was written by Emmy-award winning writer William Blinn and you can feel a little bit of television every once in a while as the story of a mother and her all-too-involved daughter unfolds. Blinn may be best known for penning the "Roots" mini-series and the television dassic "Brian's Song."

Some of "Carranor" may appear like a taste of "On Golden Pond," as Irene, the mother, and her strong-willed daughter. Shelby arrive at Carranor - the family's vacation cabin. Immediately we sense something grating between the two, as Shelby flits around the house trying to find a way to escape the cabin before nightfall.

Maryann Curmi gives Shelby just enough backbone as she stands up to her tough-as-nails mother, but she also lights up the stage when she's after the laughs. Shelby may be taking on the role of parent as her mother ages, but that doesn ‘t mean she can't act like a spoiled brat when she wants to.

Enter Chet, the reason Irene has come to Carranor so early in the summer. The couple had a close, but not close enough relationship some 50 years ago and Chet wants to rekindle the tlames. Unfortunately, he's married.

Therein lies the rub as Shelby gets a bit judgmental; she just can't seem to realize that her mother wants another chance to love experience.

Bette Laws-L,aFevre has Irene down pat; she doesn't miss an opportunity to express her emotions, even if it's only with a passing glance or a rueful stare.

She will make you reach for a tissue more than once, but that's not a had thing. and Murphys' Doug Scott plays Chet to a T He will have you wiping tears of laughter at one moment, then reduce you to an emotional wreck at the next. I have never seen someone so eloquently express a character's anguish and longing as Scott does in this show.

Laughs also come from Stephen Daly as Mr. Dibble and still more giggles arrive via Tom White's Allan, Shelby's husband who doesn't want to get in the middle of things.

Credit must be given the wordsmith however, as the script chugs along with laughs and many thought-provoking moments. Director Terry Richardson gives her cast room to roam the Stage 3 set and they dont miss a beat, hey obviously enjoy giving Blinn'c words life because despite the nature of things, they look like they're having an awful lot of fun.

Ed gives you more of a taste of the plot that's at work, but I'd be ruining a wonderfully told tale. The chance for all good things to come to an end and the chance for a mother and daughter to reconcile their differences give this play a powerful punch.

But its blows are softened by loving performances and a lot of fantastic one-liners (Irene and her blue-haired "bimbos" brought the house down!).

I laughed out loud (more than once!) and I cried with the rest of the audience, but the tears weren't filled with sadness. No. they're more filled with joy.

Stage 3 should be applauded for bringing such a fantastic world premiere to the Mother Lode boards. Go see this play.