Bill W. and Dr. Bob at Illusion Theater on 9/25/09
By: John Olive
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| Pictured – Philip Callen as Bill W and Terry Hempleman as Dr. Bob Photo by Lauren B. Photography |
It's the story told in Bill W. and Dr. Bob (at The Illusion Theater, Th-Sun through Nov 1, 528 Hennepin Ave., 8th floor, 612-339-4944, illusiontheater.org) by Stephen Bergman and Janet Surrey. Bill and Bob's journey through terminal drinking, to a tentative sobriety, then on to their transformative insight, is recounted in deeply felt detail.
This is – truth be told – a clunky play. It's overlong, laden with dozens (it seems) of momentum sapping scenes, many of which are purely expository. Roberta Carlson does her best to keep the proceedings moving with some lovely between-the-scenes music, and it does work, to a point. The female characters in particular are poorly drawn, either long-suffering ciphers, or shrill complainers. Perhaps most upsetting: the drinking in the play is joyless and perfunctory, with none of the wild dark power that animates the classic film The Lost Weekend.
But, all this out of the way, there is more authority in this play, more calm passion, than just about anything playing in the cities right now. This is due mostly to the focused intensity of the two leads, Phillip Callen and Terry Hempleman (with, no doubt, an able assist from director Michael Robins). These actors really get Bill and Dr. Bob. They understand how tentative their hard-won sobriety is, how easy it would be to take a few drinks and lose everything. They desperately feel the characters need to somehow make their sobriety permanent. Their first meeting is thrilling. Even better is their tentative encounter in Act 2 with Don, their first "successful" drunk (played beautifully by Michael Paul Levin) during which they discover the pay-it-forward key. Callen and Templeman have the experience and the talent to look past the play's awkwardness and find some genuine and powerful truth. The show works because of them.
What a pleasure to see the poised and charismatic Beth Ann Gilleland and the raw beauty of Carolyn Pool. Never mind that the characters they play are unsatisfying; these two seasoned performers grab you by the throat and force you to pay attention. This reviewer had never seen Angie Haigh's lovely work before. She's the "swing actor" (along with Levin), playing a number of characters very effectively. All in all, the writers could not have asked for a better cast.
The opening night house was filled with members of the recovery community and this gave the performance an especial charge, gasps and laughter and tears. No doubt these folks will come to every show. It's a big community, after all – for which we can thank Bill W. and Dr. Bob.
Location Info:
Illusion Theater
Artist Info: The Illusion Theater
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