Wistful 'Invention of Love' Will Woo Some but Not All
Thursday, February 2, 2006; Page VA28
Tom Stoppard's intellectually dense play "The Invention of Love" is an exercise in self-indulgence for the playwright. He has a slender concept obscured by layers of academic banter, literary allusions, parody and pages of dialogue showing off his grasp of Victorian analysis of Latin texts.
Though much of the dialogue is clever, and some passages are lyrical and lovely, it is generally left to the actors to make this muddle palatable. If they can't inject spirit into a lifeless collage of shifting themes and self-conscious allusions, the audience will be hopelessly lost.
 Sally Cusenza, left, as Charon, travels the River Styx with Nick Sampson, as poet A.E. Housman, in the Elden Street Players' production of Tom Stoppard's "The Invention of Love." The show runs through Feb. 18 in Herndon. (By Richard Downer) |
Fortunately, Elden Street Players of Herndon tapped Michael Kharfen to direct the play, and perhaps because he is also a talented actor, he has seen to it that a top-notch cast keeps the material from sinking under its own weight.
That's not to say that this is a show all will enjoy; many will struggle to maintain interest, while others may find Stoppard's musings fascinating. It's a matter of personal taste. But this is probably as good a production of "The Invention of Love" as you're likely to see. So if you're feeling adventuresome, have at it.
There are a few laughs, and they're all in the right places. Kharfen's approach is to take the acting seriously, the material less so; the show moves along briskly, the running time trimmed down.
The centerpiece is the life of Englishman A.E. Housman (1859-1936), a classical scholar and poet whose verse was said to have influenced a generation or two of poets. His life was apparently one of dedicated intellectual pursuit but also of repressed sexuality. His most enduring work, a collection of contemplations on morality and loss, stemmed from his secret love for a heterosexual Oxford school chum.
We meet Housman on his last night on Earth, at age 77. Dreaming that he is dead, Housman (played by Nick Sampson) journeys along the River Styx to the underworld, piloted by the mythical Charon (Sally Cusenza). Along the way, he sees himself as a young man (Jon Whittle) at Oxford and in the early stages of his career.
A scene between the older Housman and his 22-year-old self is the heart of the play, highlighting Housman's apparent duality as a man dedicated to poetry and scholarship, love and self-denial. Sampson conveys subtle emotion with remarkable clarity, shading traces of wistfulness with enthusiasm as he sees himself full of promising youth. (Sampson's outstanding performance is all the more noteworthy as he stepped in to replace an ill actor a few weeks before opening night.) Whittle is fervent and energetic as the young man, facing life with an open face not yet dulled by disappointment. Their dialogue, a discussion of love and friendship and the power of poetry, provides the few moments of emotional heat this play is capable of producing.
Housman's journey progresses in non-linear fashion, jumping around in time and place. Stoppard fills his play with Oscar Wilde-like aphorisms, until Wilde himself (Marshall Henderson) materializes to provide a lecture on art and life, a highlight that makes one wish for more Wilde and less Stoppard. Wilde and Housman took opposite approaches to dealing with their sexuality, and we know how well that turned out for Wilde, so his homily to the inhibited Housman is quite ironic.
Kevin Grant Lane rises to the challenge of re-creating not only the River Styx but also Oxford of the 1880s and 1890s in the shallow performance space of the Industrial Strength Theatre, aided by evocative lighting crafted by Ken and Patti Crowley.
The clever but simple set, with several tiers and not one but two "waterways," allows for nonstop transitions in time and place, a fine example of set design aiding a play's dramatic intent.
"The Invention of Love" runs through Feb. 18 at Industrial Strength Theatre, 269 Sunset Park Dr., Herndon. Showtime is 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 7 p.m. Feb. 12. For tickets, call 703-481-5930. For information, visithttp:/
