Word: fenne
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...responsibility for a comparative failure. In trying to show the demented quality of the goings-on in a Russian bank near the turn of the century, Harwood subjects his actors to a break-neck pace that is much more frantic than funny. Martin Mintz, as a clerk, and John Fenn, as the bank manager, do get some laughs, but they constantly give the impression of trying too hard, with too little material. Yet the defects of the curtain-raiser matter very little, since the over-all quality of the Sartre play is high enough not to be spoiled. And frequently...
Betsy Nelson, as Dorothy, must separate her emotions from the foolishness of her clown-friends, and in not displaying much sympathy she does this only to a limited extent. The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion, as played by John Bernard, Fred Morehouse, and John Fenn, have a lot more fun and are very successful. Marc Brugnoni's excellent Wizard has a winsomeness and honesty which is very appealing. He, Fenn, and Anne Adams, in the dubious role of the Good Witch, turn in the happiest performances in pleasant, sprightly show...
Although he delivers final judgement at the salesman's grave, Charlie, his best friend, never knew the man's needs. John Fenn turns in the best performance of his career in the role of the sympathetic and successful neighbor, who could not see Willy's deep lack, the emptiness of which he dreamed most of all. It is Earl Edgerton, in the half-real role of Uncle Ben, who represents this dream. Properly stiff, arrogant, and inhuman, Edgerton conveys the symbolic nature of his part: the power and glory of tangible success, of almost physical conquest, a confusion of real...
Scott's excellence does not overshadow the other players, though--they are almost all too good for that. The cast is large, and each one cannot be singled out for his deserved praise. Several of the actors do, however, stand out; particularly John Fenn as an impassioned Mowbray, Glen Bowersock in the role of Aumerle, Johanna Linch, who played a very majestic Queen and Andre Gregory as the aging and prophet-like Gaunt. And in the tiny part of a gardener, Charles Sifton gave a really remarkable performance...
...weak sisters, I much preferred the Chekhov piece. Director Martin Mintz seems to have paced the response too slowly, although much of the tedium through the middle of the play can be blamed on the author's excessive repetitiveness. John Fenn, as the psychosomatically ill suitor, was amusing, although he sometimes twitched about more embarrassingly than humorously. Dick Merlo heartily fulfilled the part of the father, but Laura Pincus, as Natalia, contributed little more than her presence on the stage. Nevertheless, Marriage Proposal was moderately successful as a brief entertainment...