Mary Wheeler reprises 'Rose' at LNT
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Mary Wheeler is Rose, an 80-year-old Eastern European Jewish survivor of World War II, telling her story, in "Rose," Martin Sherman's one-woman show currently at Lost Nation Theater. JIM LOWE/TIMES ARGUS FILE |
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By Jim Lowe Times Argus Staff - Published: February 6, 2010
MONTPELIER – "She laughed. And then she blew her nose. She had a cold. The bullet struck her forehead. It caught her in the middle of a thought. She was 9," Rose says, describing the death of her daughter by a Nazi soldier in Warsaw during World War II.
Mary Wheeler is Rose, an 80-year-old Jewish woman, born in the Ukraine, in Lost Nation Theater's production of "Rose," Martin Sherman's one-woman show. The production, a reprise of Wheeler's summer performance at Unadilla Theatre in Marshfield, is part of Lost Nation's WinterFest 2010.
This 90-minute gem of a monologue only gets better as the story is not obsessed with the tragedy of this woman's life; rather, it focuses on her full-blooded living of it. Wheeler again proves herself a fine actress as, on stage, she makes this story hers – most convincingly.
Throughout the play, Rose sits on a wooden bench in Miami Beach, as part of her shiva mourning ritual. With tears and laughter Rose tells the story of her life, from surviving the Warsaw ghetto and the British attempt to stem the flood of refugees to Palestine, to achieving the American dream, running a Miami hotel. There is plenty of laughter, as well as tears.
"I suppose if you have your first period and your first pogrom within the same month," Rose says, "you can safely assume your childhood is over."
What pushes Rose through these tumultuous times is her personal drive.
Wheeler delivers this drive as well as the laughter and the tears. Some of the funny moments felt exaggerated, but only momentarily. Thursday's opening night performance proved truly compelling.
This production, directed by Tara Lee Downs, proved a bit smoother that Unadilla's. Whether this was due to more time or changes is anyone's guess. The current production enjoyed a minimal but elegant set by Downs and effective lighting by Jeffrey Salzberg.
Lost Nation's "Rose" is powerful storytelling.