Cornelia
George Wallace's second wife, 19 years younger, takes the spotlight in Mark V. Olsen's steamy drama. The playwright builds Cornelia by her attributes, from selfless wife singing "Stand by Your Man" to wiretapping paranoid. In Melinda Page Hamilton's sketchy portrayal she resembles Scarlett O, Jackie O, and Annie O. But in the end, she's little more than an opportunist. The character makes sense, or gains depth, only in relation to her husband and their symbiotic dance of vipers. Robert Foxworth looks and sounds eerily like Wallace. Foxworth never overplays the Governor (director Ethan McSweeny wisely pitches the play between Homer and Harold Robbins), and his most chilling statements come off-the-cuff. Cornelia's alcoholic mother, Ruby, was larger than life. Beth Grant's hilarious performance is too large for the production, her comic relief often upstaging the drama. I must confess to a fascination with Cornelia. You could call its genre mock-epic, or epic-smarmy. You'd never expect Foxworth to utter "let Rome in Tiber melt," or Hamilton to dip her fingers in the asp basket, but on occasion, warped parallels peep through.
Worth a try.
When
Ongoing until Friday, June 12, 2009
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm & 7pm |
| Tuesdays, 7pm |
| Wednesdays, 7pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 2pm & 8pm |