Little Theatre's 'The Winslow Boy' Doesn't Show Age

Andrea Spitz, left, plays Catherine Winslow, and Albert Coia, seated, is her father, Arthur, in "The Winslow Boy," set in England before World War I. The drama is being performed through May 13 at the Rockville Little Theatre. (Photos By Dean Evangelista)

It may very well have been called "the trial of the century" in England in the years leading up to World War I, but it is now forgotten. So that's strike one. Strike two for Terence Rattigan's drama "The Winslow Boy" is that this story about a landmark trial never ventures into the courtroom, concentrating instead on a family intent on righting an injustice through the legal system, even if the sacrifice it entails seems terribly out of proportion.

But there's no third strike. In fact, Rockville Little Theatre hits a home run with a superb production of "The Winslow Boy," providing compelling theater by concentrating on the basics -- namely, finding a good story and telling it well.

Rattigan based his 1946 play on a real-life case in 1908, that of a cadet, barely a teenager, accused of stealing a 5-shilling postal order and then expelled from Royal Naval College. The playwright maintained the fundamentals of the case, but created a fictional family in order to explore issues both personal and political. While the account of an individual, in this case the boy's father, taking on "the system" is timeless, it is striking how many political issues raised by his quest are relevant today. The concept of sovereign immunity, that a government cannot be sued by individuals for its misdeeds, is a battle still being fought, and the injustice of a government misusing its powers at the expense of individual liberties is a matter that can regularly be found on the front pages of newspapers. Add to that a fixation on a legal case by the media and political establishment, even as a horrific war is looming, and "The Winslow Boy" strikes many a resonant chord.

None of that would matter if the story were not presented with skill, and the Rockville troupe does not disappoint. Director Michael Kharfen builds atmosphere even before the first words are spoken by projecting silent period film of daily life onto the set as the audience is still arriving. The play rests on three capable actors, each turning in outstanding performances.

Foremost is Albert Coia as the determined, upper-middle-class father who spends his savings and his health to clear his son's name, purely as a matter of principle as the boy was not seriously harmed by the expulsion. Coia's Arthur Winslow is solid as an otherwise ordinary man who is willing to turn his family and even his government upside-down in order that "the right thing" be done. Coia's Winslow is no fanatic, just a man firmly wedded to principle. Coia employs a frank gruffness to make the man's deteriorating health and finances a matter of poignancy, rather than the result of zealotry.

Coia is joined by Andrea Spitz as Winslow's suffragette daughter, Catherine. Displaying passion about her character's political causes but with a subtly sensuous aspect, Spitz plays her as quite self-possessed. But she never veers into stridency, and that makes her later scenes with the famous conservative politician and lawyer who takes the Winslow case more striking.

Bill Taylor, tall and imperious as Sir Robert Morton, is unrelenting in his first meeting with the boy, Ronnie (Joshua Greenwald), grilling him mercilessly. But Taylor delicately weaves just enough warmth into the man's arrogance that his later scenes, where the man's facade is down and his own sacrifices for the cause are revealed, seem fully in character and rewarding. Patricia Kratzer is also effective in the smaller role of Grace Winslow, the boy's mother, who comes to resent the price the case exacts on the family.

Kharfen maintains an unhurried but steady pacing throughout, and even some uneven performances by supporting players can't undo the absorbing atmosphere created by the leads. It's a fascinating story.

"The Winslow Boy" continues through May 13, presented by Rockville Little Theatre, at F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre, 603 Edmonston Dr., in Rockville Civic Center Park. Performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with a Sunday matinee this weekend at 2 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at 240-314-8690. For information, visithttp://www.rlt-online.org.