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at Chance Theater

Reviewed by Eric Marchese

October 05, 2011


Photo by Doug Catiller
Bridget Carpenter's 2003 drama offers a fictionalized version of the life of Larry Walters, the Southern California man who took flight on July 2, 1982, by strapping himself into a lawn chair tethered to weather balloons. In meshing reality with fiction, Carpenter offers a compelling look at society's dreamers, those who live outside the confines of conformity. What gives the play, and Trevor Biship's fine staging, depth and bite are its depictions of the impact Walter Griffin's decisions, actions, and life choices have on his devoted wife, Helen, who has supported the family for 12 years as a mail carrier, and on their son, Mikey, a sweet-tempered high school sophomore casting about for something—anything—at which he can excel.

Biship's staging is buoyed by well-detailed performances by the actors portraying the nuclear Griffin family; Mikey's new girlfriend, Maria, and her quirky Aunt Chris; and the now-legendary French high-wire walker Philippe Petit, whose presence manifests itself in Walter's imagination, spurring him on to ever more outlandish projects as he attempts to top his bizarre one-man flight of 16 years earlier.

James Daniel Finnerty's Walter is a self-absorbed yet kindhearted doofus whose emotional state is one of arrested development. Finnerty highlights the man's perplexity over Helen's inability to grasp the intrinsic value of having his head in the clouds as he refuses to be bogged down by petty details like being a breadwinner. Lisa Clifton's portrayal of Helen is a tour de force of patience, genuine affection, and devotion—and, later, wrath over Walter's cockeyed solution to the problem of finding and holding a job. Scott Dare's Mikey is like a younger version of Dad, adrift in life and searching for his place in the world. Charismatic Jennifer Soo brings kindness and wisdom to Mikey's self-confident, pregnant new classmate and friend. Karen Webster's aunt is a blunt, hard-charging Southern gal convinced of Mikey's potential for tremendous success. Garret Replogle's Philippe is an ethereal manifestation of Walter's daydreams—an oh-so-French version of Walter, his existence devoted to increasingly dangerous high-wire stunts.

Biship's vision is supported by Bradley Kaye's scene design, a metaphor of the Griffin home as a giant gondola, and Ryan Brodkin's delicate, evocative sound design. The production is a worthy regional premiere not to be missed.

Presented by and at Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills. Oct. 1-23. Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. (714) 777-3033. www.chancetheater.com.
 
 
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