PROVO — Center Street Theatre’s production of The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca is an ambitious undertaking. Performed at The Hive Collaborative, the company’s solid production under director Charles Mosher is worth seeing. The play takes place in rural Andalucía, Spain, in the home of Bernarda Alba, following the death of Alba’s second husband. Alba wields total control over her five adult daughters, imposing an eight year mourning period on the entire household. Interest in her daughters from men in the village undermines Alba’s reign, leading to tensions and tragedy. This is a 1993 English translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata and the language flows well, despite feeling a bit stiff at times. Written by Garcia Lorca in 1936 as the last play before the playwright’s assassination at the hands of the fascist forces in Spain of that era, the play is ostensibly a commentary on the tragic outcomes of tyranny and fascism.
Editor’s Note: Production Photos have not yet been received by UTAJ. When they are, they will be added to this review. Photos can be provided through this form.
Mosher’s director’s note alludes to the original anti-fascist intent, while encouraging audiences to consider how similar patterns of control and abuse wreak havoc on a smaller scale in our own communities, families, and relationships. In this, Mosher is quite successful. I left the production with much to ponder, about misogyny, abuse, control, and their negative effects on society generally and women specifically. All of Lorca’s characters in this play are women, including the tyrannical matriarch, and yet it is fascinating that the play remains a harsh commentary on patriarchal society. It’s frustrating how a script full of complex female characters and relationships somehow still seethes and pulses about men even in their absence. The play prompts consideration, long after curtain call, about Lorca’s possible intentions and beliefs about society and about women. How has such a commentary resonated and rhymed down through nearly one hundred years? This production is still surprisingly timely and should be seen.
In producing this classic work, Center Street afforded meaty roles to well cast local women, down to the smallest roles. Julie Cordell-Seamons is formidable as the titular character Bernarda Alba. Cordell-Seamons wields a cane and a raised voice to command strict obedience, and to force Alba’s daughters and all those in her presence to cower. Cordell-Seamons’ performance tends to a single level, and could benefit from being infused with more nuance — leaning into quieter, more dangerous power at times, rather than always forcing acquiescence through the volume of her commands. Even so, she is clearly capable of handling this challenging role with her dominating physical presence and clarity of purpose through many scenes.
McKenna Walwyn gives an excellent, understated performance as Angustias, the eldest daughter. The intensity of bridled emotion within Walwyn’s character seeps through and overflows at all the right moments. Hanna McKinnon as Martirio is also excellent, with natural and convincing delivery, and compelling emotion and interplay with the other characters.
Mich Hales-Bean as Magdalena, and Sydni Bringhurst as Amelia are both compelling and believable parts of the family dynamic. Mckenzie Blair-Mosher as Adela is sincere and capable in her portrayal of the particularly tragic role of the youngest sister. Heidi Mendez as the Housekeeper La Poncia is clearly a skilled actor, making very specific choices that develop her character and reveal La Poncia’s long history with the family. Mendez leans into the few and needed comedic moments with skill. Elle Livingston as the Maid is strong in this minor role. A special mention is warranted for Alyssa Aramaki who plays a myriad of smaller roles with skill, including playing the role of Maria Josefa as an understudy in this performance.
Opal Tolman’s set design and stage dressing is simple and sufficient, mixing modern and more classic elements. One side of the stage features a mid-century modern leather sofa, balanced on the other side by a long farm table table symbolically decorated with a statue of the Virgin Mary and dying greenery. Broken and weathered half-frames are suspended to indicate doorways and windows along the upstage of the space, and cream colored linen-like curtains line the entire stage, nothing quite defining time or place. The light-colored curtains contrast well with the black attire of the actors, keeping them from blending into the stage. Addie Bennett’s costumes are beautiful with a hint of classic Spain in the laces and mourning veils.
The picture on the playbill, of the Alba women dressed in modern black attire, surrounding a leather chaise, signals a clear modern setting, which is misleading. The costumes and other visual elements overall are a mishmash of era and styles that seem to aim for a timeless blend of design. Although timelessness can be a compelling choice, the lack of a definitive time period in this production feels muddled rather than specific.
Overall Mosher’s direction is capable and smooth. The pacing is good and blocking efficient as scenes move seamlessly from one to the next. There are moments signaling a glimpse of Mosher’s great potential and more stylized direction. When Bernarda commands all her daughters to force their grandmother back to her confinement, a brief stylized tableau assembles of the young women surrounding the old woman in a sea of grabbing limbs. And later, a similarly striking moment occurs as the women again gather, grasping snakelike at their youngest sister in a striking and tragic final tableau. These moments are excellent, but are too brief and too few, prompting a desire for greater stylization throughout.
Center Street’s production is timely, well directed and acted, and worth seeing as this is such a uniquely produced play, such that this marks the first time The House of Bernarda Alba has been reviewed in Utah Theatre Arts Journal history. The greater historical and smaller interpersonal lessons and themes of the production are relevant and important today as authoritarian leanings gain traction throughout the modern world. Artists and companies like Center Street are doing the true work of keeping challenging, thoughtful theatre alive on Utah stages, and deserve attention and attendance. It’s a short run, closing this weekend, so grab tickets soon. I hope this company keeps up the ambitious work and look forward to seeing more from them and Mosher in the future.
MORE INFO: The House of Bernarda Alba is playing at The Hive Collaborative (290 W 600 S, Provo, UT 84601) at 7:30 pm through November 14th. Tickets are $15 to $22. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.thehivecollaborative.com/shows.
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