Providence Players' 'Time of Your Life' Night to Remember
Thursday, October 19, 2006; Page VA30
The seedy bar set designed by Chip Gertzog and John Coscia for "The Time of Your Life," William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning play onstage from Providence Players, is virtually a character in the story.
Meticulously detailed, it is quirky, colorful and somewhat rundown, yet solid and functional. It's below street level, but a brighter world can be seen through the high-set, frosted windows or glimpsed at the staircase used by a motley assortment of regulars.
  Joe (Patrick David), right, offers a sardonic toast to menacing vice cop Blick (Larry Craven) in "The Time of Your Life." (By Chip Gertzog) |
This is Nick's Saloon on San Francisco's waterfront in 1939, where Saroyan's quirky, colorful, and somewhat rundown characters dwell. Some seem solid, others less so, but most are searching for something better in their lives.
"The Time of Your Life" is not a reference to having fun; it is time at its most elemental, marching inexorably forward and carrying life with it.
This is a challenging piece, with little plot movement, conflict or dramatic tension until the final scenes. But director Chip Gertzog and his cast of almost two dozen create enough sense of sanguine farce to offset gloom and despair emanating from the characters.
Coupled with some brilliant performances, the comedic element contributes to a combustible, absorbing atmosphere in which Saroyan's message about living for the moment becomes vivid. Joe (Patrick David) is enigmatic with all the cash he needs. He spends his days drinking champagne and nosing into the lives of those who filter past his table.
Among them are Nick (Kevin Harnisch), the immigrant Italian bar owner; Kitty (Cristin Guinan-Wiley), a melancholy prostitute; and a wizened old geezer calling himself Kit Carson (John Coscia).
There's also Blick (Larry Craven), a malicious cop looking to make trouble, and Dudley (Matt Ames), nervous as he waits for his girlfriend.
Gertzog must have been tempted to move things along, to keep the running time under three hours, if nothing else. But the pace is slow and deliberate, appropriate for the actors savoring the pithy but resonant language. Providence Players are dedicated to maintaining a close-knit, community-based acting company, so a number of familiar but less talented actors play some of the secondary roles.
Gertzog is fortunate to have several standouts whose work blurs weaknesses.
Foremost is David, whose character remains aloof even while getting involved in everyone's lives. He dominates the play, though he barely stirs from his table, his face a study in quiet amusement. He maintains Joe's mystery, keeping us guessing whether he is trying to reclaim a lost childhood or is on the brink of suicide. David's work is a wonderful example of creating a character from within, then peeling back the layers bit by bit.
David Whitehead fills the role of Wesley, a down-on-his-luck piano player.
Standouts other than David include Guinan-Wiley, using her plush voice seductively as Kitty, capturing the mannerisms and look of a 1940s celluloid siren. Coscia offers comedic relief as Carson, a Gabby Hayes-like creature cadging free drinks for tall tales.
Ames's lovelorn Dudley grabs attention even while he is just doing background business in the crowded bar with a series of high-strung mannerisms.
Craven exudes menace as Blick. And Mike Matheisen offers up a good-hearted longshoreman named McCarthy, Saroyan's embodiment of the American ideal of hard work and fair play.
The play ends in a sudden burst of action that modern audiences might find less satisfying than those of 1939, but then, this was the time of their lives, not ours.
"The Time of Your Life" continues through Oct. 28, performed by Providence Players at the James Lee Community Center Theater, 2855 Annandale Rd., Falls Church. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sunday. Saturday's show will be sign-language interpreted. For tickets and information, call 703-425-6782 or visithttp:/
