Word: heidis
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Wendy Wasserstein's play portrays the emotional milestones of Heidi Holland, a self-proclaimed "informed observer" of life, and links them with the chief social issues and trends of her time. The play begins with Heidi (Janine Poreba) alone on a darkened stage, warmly personalizing her lecture on women in art. Her reminiscences of insecurity and indecision trigger the events of the play, literally inviting the audience to relate to her story on a personal level...
Indeed, the Leverett House production fostered this kind of empathy from the audience. The small space, small cast and warm lighting contributed to the cozy, intimate feel. The timely elements of the play--the period costumes, props, music and lingo--were overshadowed by the universal truths of Heidi's struggle with loneliness...
...lead role, Janine Poreba struck a poignant balance between her confessional relationship with the audience, her underlying isolation on stage, and the preservation of normality in her interactions with the other characters. The role of Heidi demands a juggling act between Heidi's personal problems and the many different relationships she holds with the other characters. Poreba maintained Heidi's sense of "self" while contributing to the development of others, namely Peter Patrone (Mike Efron) and Scoop Rosenbaum (Nick Gordon). Poreba's Heidi was vividly 3-dimensional. Most striking were Poreba's monologues, in which her meaningful pauses, shifting pace...
...Peter Patrone, Heidi's longtime friend and "the best doctor under 40 in New York," Mike Efron fully developed his character without off-setting or being off-set by the swirl of other issues around him. In depicting Peter's decision to reveal his homosexuality to Heidi and in his response to the AIDS crisis--both dealt with in the midst of a play so laden with feminist concerns--Efron holds his own with captivating power. Efron's convincing combination of wit, cynicism and vulnerability made his character especially sympathetic to the audience. His final duet with Poreba...
Confusing casting aside, Leverett's Heidi Chronicles marks an auspicious beginning for Harvard's fall drama season...