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Hearing Voices

Dylan Thomas' poetic language pleases the ear in 'Under Milk Wood'

By Anne Gelhaus

Pitcher Perfect: Elizabeth Snyder in 'Under Milk Wood'.

IN THE PLAY Under Milk Wood, Dylan Thomas describes the people of Llareggub, Wales, in language that washes over the audience with the same peaceful force as the waves that break on the shore of his fictional port town. A poet first and foremost, Thomas wrote his script to please the ear, not the eye--in fact, it was first performed as a radio piece in 1944--and while TheatreWorks' production is well-staged, the action distracts from what should be primarily a listening experience.

In fact, some of the show's best moments come when the three "Voices" who narrate the goings-on are doing just that. As First Voice, Remi Sandri is particularly adept at making Thomas' soothing verses and amusing wordplay dance on their own, and the power of his reading is often diluted by the acting out of his dialogue.

At other times, however, it's great fun to see characters come to life. Stephen Pawley and Celia Maurice are well-paired as husband and wife, a combination that occurs in two different incarnations since all cast members play multiple roles. As Mrs. Pugh, Maurice seems to be made of dry ice and vinegar, a demeanor that fuels the hilariously murderous fantasies of Pawley's Mr. Pugh. As Mr. and Mrs. Willy-Nilly, who run the local post office, Pawley and Maurice are able to tell everyone in town the contents of the mail, having steamed it all open prior to delivery.

Jeff Hunt's set designs are wisely unobtrusive and closely based on a sketch of Llareggub that Thomas drew. The only time the town draws any attention to itself is at dusk, when the nighttime sky created by John G. Rathman's lighting design gives it a beautiful glow.

The songs Thomas wrote for Under Milk Wood have been nicely augmented in TheatreWorks' production with incidental music by Tom Linblade. Some of the repeats could be cut, however: Polly Garter (Elizabeth Snyder) sings about her one true love about three times too often, and the show itself could stand to end after the first time the Rev. Eli Jenkins (Ron Evans) sings his sunset sermon. Everything that takes place between that and the reprise stretches out a day in the life of these villagers that has already gone on long enough.

Under Milk Wood plays Tue. at 7:30pm; Wed.-Sat. at 8pm; Sun., Jan. 21 and 28, at 7pm; and Sunday, Feb. 4, at 2pm through Feb. 4 at the Center for the Performing Arts, Mercy and Castro streets, Mt. View. Tickets are $15-$26. (415/903-6000)

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