Armenante’s strength is precisely the opposite: The terrible Melony is an outsize character, and the actress plays her that way. It is, amazingly, an entirely unselfconscious performance. Hopelessly endearing, Hamilton takes his character from small boy to middle-aged man without strain.
Instead, Winters crafts a nuanced portrait, full of contradictions and lovable quirks. Larch’s zeal regarding abortion, it would be easy for Winters to play the character didactically, as something of a mouthpiece for Irving’s views. The cast is uniformly excellent, with three outstanding performances. Often, “Cider House” seems as much a ballet as a drama, so beautiful and symbolic are the movements on stage. And the use of on-stage musicians to play folk tunes and Schubert lieder lends welcome verisimilitude, to say nothing of pleasure.īut perhaps more than anything, it’s the choreographic aspects of the staging that impress most. Snow, for instance, is sprinkled by the handful by cast members in full view.
Sound effects, so much a part of the action and enjoyment here, are largely produced by the actors, and all the more attractive for the imperfections. John Arnone’s set, which curiously bears a slight resemblance to the set in “Ragtime,” is plainness itself, wooden slats surrounding a two-tier wrought-iron frame. Instead, subtle and often moving directorial touches sustain our interest in this vast canvas, itself the product of Parnell’s smart synthesis of a 550-page novel. Grand gestures and overwhelming effects are entirely eschewed. Rather, it’s Hulce and Jones’ production, a remarkable amalgam of craft and simplicity. The descent into - and undoing of - that mess occupy the bulk of the play’s second part.īut what really makes “Cider House” so special isn’t the engrossing soap opera. When Wally goes off to war, the inevitable occurs, and a son, Angel (Shane West), is born to Homer and Candy. A fast friendship evolves, and Homer becomes smitten with Candy. Larch encourages his surrogate son to spend time with a young couple, Wally and Candy (Patrick Wilson and Myra Platt). Convinced that Homer needs to see at least some of the world, Dr. Larch’s journey, then Part Two is Homer’s odyssey. Larch imparts to him, especially those concerning terminating pregnancies. But before reconciliation comes conflict, for Homer eventually rejects many of the lessons Dr. Larch an incalculably valuable gift, a sacrifice really. At the drama’s conclusion, Homer gives Dr. And it is their love for each other that proves the most enduring bond in this play. Larch is the crucible in which “Cider House” wages its most searing battles. It is Melony who introduces Homer to sex, the missing link in a trinity also comprising childbirth and its doppelganger, abortion.īut the relationship between Homer and Dr. Cloud’s, Homer also forms a less savory association, with Melony (Jillian Armenante), an exceptionally strong and angry tomboy with all the charm of Attila the Hun. He calls them princes of Maine, kings of New England, and he reads Dickens to them, forming an especially strong connection with one, Homer Wells ( Josh Hamilton), an unfortunate child whose luck with adoptive parents has been nil (two sets abuse him, a third dies in a freakish, Irving-esque accident). Larch looks after his charges - those he hasn’t terminated - with paternal affection. As is said of the good doctor’s efforts, sometimes he delivers children, and sometimes he delivers mothers.Īssisted by two capable and doting nurses (Jane Carr and Brenda Wehle), Dr. Larch also finds his remote domain an ideal spot in which to perform what he calls “God’s work,” i.e. Cloud’s hospital and orphanage to bring children into the world and see to their care until proper homes can be found, Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Winters), a Harvard-educated obstetrician who has been converted to the virtues of abortion via rude awakenings. But those caught up in the human saga of the work will probably forgive such excesses. There is, obviously, a blatant political point at the heart of “Cider House,” and some people will be put off by its insistent message. And it proves a resilient chord, one that remains unbroken despite the best efforts of some of the 60 characters who populate this sprawling drama. The divisive issue of abortion is the thread that runs through the play, directly or indirectly affecting all the action.