“The Van Meder Trust” at FringeNYC 2014 at the Connelly Theater (Closes on Friday August 15, 2014)
“The Van Meder Trust” at FringeNYC 2014 at the Connelly Theater (Closes on Friday August 15, 2014) Written by Beth Danesco Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
Any play about personal identity is a welcomed addition to the contemporary body of new dramatic work. In addition to discovering who murdered his presumed father turned ghost, Hamlet needed to sort out who he was and who his real father was. Charlotte Van Meder (Alexandria Danielle King) is a suburban Boston high school student who, like Hamlet, is confused about her cultural, racial, and social identity: Charlotte has South African (Afrikaner) and African American roots and is the daughter of a dysfunctional drug-addicted mother and an emotionally absent father (Kevin Tobias Brown) who holds the keys to her substantial fortune. Playwright Beth Danesco attempts to focus on Charlotte’s dilemma in her new “The Van Meder Trust” currently running at the Connelly Theater as part of FringeNYC’s eighteenth season. Unfortunately, a variety of sub plots (mostly driven by dysfunctional characters with dysfunctional conflicts) drain the energy from the main story of Charlotte’s need to take charge of her own present and future, free herself from debilitating fear, and move forward in her process of self identity and self acceptance.
Ms. Danesco has created an extremely complicated bi-coastal, bi-continental story with more conflicts than necessary. At the opening performance on August 8, this complexity was exacerbated by actors who simply could not be heard. Essential exposition was missing for the audience. For example, someone’s father (or grandfather?) fathered children with two women who are in some fashion related to Charlotte. Obviously, clarity about Charlotte’s lineage is essential; however, that clarity never makes it past the proscenium.
What is clear is that Charlotte’s aunt Afton (Liz Adams) is the catalyst for her niece’s escape from fear and her concomitant journey to wholeness. Ms. Adams and Ms. King endow their characters with authenticity and deliver honest and transparent performances. The remainder of the ensemble cast performs adequately and each does his or her best to elucidate Ms. Danesco’s dense and sometimes elusive script. There is no mention of a director in the creative team and this absence could explain some of the problems exhibited in the performance.
Clear in addition is that “The Van Meder Trust” has a core of significance that deserves additional attention by the playwright and an expanded creative team.
THE VAN MEDER TRUST
“The Van Meder Trust” is presented by The All Stories Theater Company and The Present Company (Elena K Holy, Producing Artistic Director).
The August 8, 2014 cast of “The Van Meder Trust” includes Liz Adams, Jose Guns Alves, Kevin Tobias Brown, Kathy-Ann Hart, Sarah M. Jackson, Alexandria Danielle King, John Trent, Dayenne C. Byron Walters, and Alan R. White.
For performance schedule, ticketing information and more information about the presenting company, please visit www.FringeNYC.org. For mobile ticketing, please visit www.FringeonTheFly.com. The running time is 2 hours with one five minute intermission.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, August 10, 2014
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