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‘Heiress’ proves sturdy, classical at the Victorian
By MILAN PAURICH
YOUNGSTOWN
Stripped of the class consciousness, social satire and nascent feminist trappings of its Henry James source material, Ruth and Augustus Goetz’s 1947 play “The Heiress” has always been a sort of Harlequin Romance stepsister to James’ novel “Washington Square.”
A “well-made” play of the Old School variety, “The Heiress” is so sturdily constructed — with much of the dialogue lifted directly from James’ book — that it remains a community theater staple 60-plus years later.
The J.E. Ballantyne Jr.-directed version of “The Heiress” currently running at the Victorian Players has the starchy feel of a production that actually could have been staged in the late 1940s. And much of the stentorian acting on display seems to have been lifted from an even earlier era, maybe at the time (1880) of “Washington Square”’s original publication.
Ballantyne’s conservative direction takes few risks with the material. His blocking is classical, and the cast hits all their notes (including some of the more obvious ones) with the proper dispatch.
An old-fashioned melodrama, “The Heiress” tells the story of Catherine (Caty Sacui), the unloved, socially awkward only child of standoffish physician Austin Sloper (Bill Finley). When parvenu/fortune hunter Morris Townsend (Daniel Temelkoff) begins courting the painfully shy Catherine, her father is convinced that this strapping young man is only after the family fortune. (Because Dr. Sloper is brutally blunt at all times, he doesn’t bother shielding poor Catherine from his worst suspicions.)
After Morris skips town upon learning that Catherine will be disinherited if she elopes with him, the heartbroken heiress resigns herself to a life of spinsterhood and needlepoint (the only thing her father told her she was good at anyway). Not even Dr. Sloper’s death or the surprise, many-years-later visit from a properly chastened Morris can dissuade her otherwise. Like Nora in “A Doll’s House,” Catherine ends the play on a note of door-banging finality.
The Goetzes’ (and James’) plotting is so airtight that even a mediocre staging of “The Heiress” has its pleasures, and the Vic’s uneven production is no exception. Ballantyne and Dr. Thomas Copeland’s set design and Ballantyne’s lighting/sound design are all spot-on (the incidental background music is particularly apt). Some of the costumes, however, look as though they were taken directly from a museum exhibit. Conspicuously absent is the lived-in quality that makes or breaks period costuming.
Although a tad young — and definitely too pretty — for the role, Sacui’s performance as Catherine grows exponentially stronger as the evening progresses. If Sacui never fully captures Catherine’s emotional fragility (in Act One) or her iron will (in Act Two), there’s more than enough of both qualities to make her titular heroine a properly empathetic figure.
Too many of the actors sound like they’re just reading lines instead of truly feeling and/or comprehending their dialogue (a common problem in period pieces). Finley’s rather phlegmatic portrayal of the accursed Sloper lacks the essential mean-spiritedness the role demands. We have to take on faith that he’s the sort of cad who would treat his daughter so cruelly. Temelkoff makes Morris such an ineffectual wimp that he doesn’t seem nearly dangerous enough to incite Catherine’s ardor or Sloper’s wrath. And Crystal Niemi’s eccentric interpretation of Catherine’s Aunt Lavinia makes her flibbertigibbet character even more addled than usual.
A few of the supporting performers do strong, subtle work. Courtney Nicole Auman (as Catherine’s social gadfly cousin Marian), Yvonne Andrews (devoted Sloper maid Maria) and Marilyn Higgins (Morris’ widowed sister Mrs. Montgomery) are all very good.
While not an “Heiress” for the ages, this workmanlike rendition captures many of the requisite virtues of a timeless work.
“The Heiress” runs through next Sunday at the Victorian Players, 702 Mahoning Avenue. For tickets, call (330) 746-5455.