'April' provides 3 hours of stress-free enjoyment

"ENCHANTED APRIL," Caine Lyric Theatre, Logan (435-797-0305). Running time: two hours, 42 minutes (one intermission).

LOGAN — Put away the cell phone. Turn off the pager. Put your watch in your pocket.

If you intend to see "Enchanted April," the Old Lyric Repertory company's third production of the summer, you can plan on spending the better part of three hours without stress, without being in a hurry or facing troublesome issues.

"Enchanted April" tells of four English women who rent a castle on the coast of Italy to escape all these harried things, and a few more.

Patrons will need to exercise — as characters in the play are urged — "some Italian patience." The production is not a laugh-a-minute farce or a tense mystery. It could best be described, in movie parlance, as a "chick flick."

The first aspect of the production that intrigues is the simple, yet layered, set. What appears to be a nearly bare stage is transformed by light and pale images on translucent screens into any number of locations and feelings. From rainstorms in dreary Hampstead to sunsets on the Riviera — there must be eight or nine scene changes before intermission alone. Each is fascinating, though time consuming.

Set designer Dennis Hassan and lighting designer Bruce Duerden are major players in this production.

The first housewife we meet who feels the need to have a personal holiday is Lottie Wilton, played by Tracy Hill. She makes the audience feel the frustration she faces with her boring husband, Mellersh, played by Lee Daily. She persuades Rose Arnot (Keri Hostetler) to share the cost of a one-month rental. Rose is struggling with issues of forgiveness and companionship with her husband, Frederick (Lego Louis), a noted author. (Louis is not asked to do much, but Daily nearly brings the house down in one of the production's few slapstick moments, a scene that involves a bath towel and little else.)

Joining Lottie and Rose in traveling to Italy is Mrs. Graves (played wonderfully by Jackie Fullmer), a staunch, hard widow who is as seemingly set in her ways as a concrete foundation. "April" is well-written, a treat for the ears, and Mrs. Graves gets many of the best lines, with her pithy comments and sarcastic attitude. Also picking up part of the rent for the month in San Salvatore is Caroline Bramble (Kindra Steenerson), a beautiful socialite who carries a secret and tries to keep herself and her beauty to herself.

Landlord at the castle is Anthony Wilding, played by a more-restrained-than-usual Phillip Lowe, who is assisted by a maid (Maribeth Evensen-Hengge). They often speak in Italian, but knowing Italian is not a requirement for the audience, as Evensen-Hengge is quick to use body language and facial contortions to make the translation easier.

---

E-mail: jay@statesman.serv.usu.edu