TOM TITUS -- THEATER REVIEW

Perseverance is a time-honored English trait. It got the Brits through

two world wars. And just before the first one started, it got one family

through a legal entanglement that could have been subtitled “Mission:

Impossible.”

“The Winslow Boy,” now on stage at the Newport Theatre Arts Center, is

based on the true story of a 14-year-old military cadet’s dismissal for

the theft of a five-shilling postal note. The boy proclaimed his

innocence, and his family took the case all the way to the equivalent of

our Supreme Court.

Playwright Terence Rattigan’s dramatization of the incident is a long,

demanding and quite talky period piece that nevertheless gradually

becomes quite riveting.

Splendidly staged, with attention to minuscule detail, by Darlene

Hunter Chaffee, the drama is an absorbing, thought-provoking production.

At Newport, two performances more than compensate for any other

interpretive weakness that might be present. The boy’s stern father, a

fearsome man with an ironclad mind-set, is superbly enacted by Jack

Messenger, while the family’s equally determined solicitor (lawyer) is

brilliantly portrayed by Graham Barnard.

Messenger skillfully peels several layers of his character -- the

regal patriarch, the determined father in quest of justice and,

eventually, the humbled family man who realizes the consequences his

quixotic quest may have on his family, and already have had on his

daughter’s impending marriage. Through it all, as his physical condition

painfully worsens, he pursues his course with steadfast resolve.

While playgoers may question the prospect of knighthood being

confirmed on so youthful a recipient, they undoubtedly will be greatly

moved by Barnard’s tremendous portrayal of the lawyer, Sir Robert Morton.

Barnard conveys a steely, unemotional and colossally egotistic

barrister who grills the young boy unmercifully to determine his

worthiness, then pursues justice at the cost of his own career.

Ellen Daphne Walcutt is somewhat uneven as the wife and mother who

fears the practical effects of her son’s case may outweigh any benefits.

More strength of character is required in the role, even in a time when

women rarely enjoyed equal status with men.

This latter situation is sternly addressed by Laurel Gregory as the

Winslows’ grown daughter, pursued by two equally unsuitable suitors. The

daughter reflects her father’s cool determination as an unwavering

suffragette, while muting her inherent didactic nature. Greg Stich enacts

her shallow fiance with natural ease.

The Winslow boy in question is played by Jonathan Polimeni with a

staunch sense of right-mindedness, though his interpretation could be

stronger with more variety. His older brother, a bit of a wastrel, is

done with ironic sourness by Colin Kramer.

Jennifer Boudreau injects what little levity the play offers as a

Cockney maid, while John R. Townsend flourishes in the stereotyped,

comic-relief role of an aging cricket player pining for the daughter’s

affections.

Therese Galien enjoys a spirited cameo as a newspaper reporter, joined

by John Gillies as her photographer.

The English drawing room setting is beautifully accomplished by Terri

Miler Schmidt, who both created and dressed the set. Rolf Stuauff’s

costumes serve the play admirably, and Michael Schrupp’s lighting effects

fit the mood splendidly.

“The Winslow Boy” could be deadly dull in the wrong hands, but Chaffee

and her cast at Newport have created a richly moving experience.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

WHAT: “The Winslow Boy”

WHERE: Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays through

Feb. 25

COST: $13

CALL: (949) 531-0288