Word: evett
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Directed by Ben Evett...
Perhaps that is why Ben Evett '86, a charter member of Robert Brustein's Institute for Advanced Theatrical Training, has decided to stage Faith Healer in the Adams House basement. This two hour talkfest consists of four reminiscences about Francis Hardy (Ben Evett), an itinerant Irish faith healer whose ministrations actually succeed from time to time. Hardy, his wife Grace (Rebecca Clark), and his manager Teddy (Linus Gelber) recall his life, culminating in a disastrous return tour to Ireland. Each character gives his version of the events, with Hardy going first and last; like the famous Japanese short story...
What makes the play memorable, though, is the virtuoso acting of Ben Evett as Ariel and Kerrick Johnson as Caliban, the sorceror Prospero's two slaves. Ariel and Caliban are pivotal figures, representing the opposing realms of Air and Earth that lie at the heart of Shakespeare's thematic dilemma. And in this production, Evett and Johnson can hardly do wrong, expertly treading the line between man and spirit that make these two of Shakespeare's more difficult roles...
...most adventurous device, Bradford clothes Evett in green body make-up and transparent loincloth, and has him dart around the stage, sometimes quickly, sometimes stroking the air with slow-motion body gestures to create the impression of being lighter-than-air. The effect works; Evett manages to deliver some momentous dialogue with astonishing pungency, all the while balancing his taut figure in the pose of a Greek discus thrower...
...Evett and Kerrick Johnson really have it bad, though. Respectively playing wood sprite Ariel and the demidemon Caliban, they must cover themselves in body makeup. In the words of Kermit the Frog, it's not easy being green; it takes Ben an hour-and-a-half to apply the frog-colored goo that allows him to pass for a sprite. Later, with practice, he hopes to be able to go through the process in a mere hour...