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| John Pratt as Frank and Kaaren Spanski-Driffin as Rita |
“Educating Rita” at Olympia Little Theatre is a witty
look at a clash of culture full of smart dialogue, with a smattering of
literary criticism thrown in to sweeten the pot. It’s also a tour de force for
the two-person cast. The memorization of their lines is by itself a Herculean
feat, plus they have to do it in dialect and both characters undergo an
evolution of personality involving both nuanced and overblown acting – particularly
on the part of Rita (Kaaren Spanski-Driffin).
The cast is comprised of Spanski-Driffin and John
Pratt as Frank. Pratt is a seasoned veteran who has been acting on stages
throughout Southwest Washington since 1993. His stage presence is confident and
convincing. Audiences should have no trouble seeing him as a washed-up, bitter
professor of English Literature whose only friends are the bottles of booze he
hides behind books in his study.
Spanski-Driffin is a newcomer to Olympia Little
Theatre who is surely destined to join the ranks of the best actors in the
South Sound region. She is a comic delight as the outspoken and trashy Rita.
Rita is a hairdresser who wants to go back to college
to better herself. She goes to Frank for once-a-week tutoring in English
Literature. Frank, a poet with low self-esteem and an even lower opinion of his
students is particular put off by Rita for her ignorance and lack of social
graces. Over the course of the tutoring Rita becomes a more self-confident and
graceful woman, but more importantly, she changes and humanizes Frank. It
becomes a question of who is educating whom.
The same team of actors and director Norma Rogers
produced this play at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia in 2012, which
surely helped them fine tune their performance, and it shows.
Outstanding work is also turned in by set designer
Matthew Moeller, costumers Allison
Gerst and Barbara Matthews; and Rick
Pearlstein, who did everything from stage managing to lighting and sound design
and editing.
I like Moeller’s set for his color choices and
attention to detail – the professorial clutter, the crooked painting on the
wall, the mis-matched bookshelves, and the ivy growing outside Frank’s window
are all great touches.
The costumes enhance Frank and Rita’s character. They
change costumes for each scene. I didn’t count, but there must be well over 20
costume changes, and the look of Rita’s clothing evolves as her personality
changes.
This play is two-and-one-half hours long including a
15-minute intermission. Act 1 did drag a little toward the end, but very
little.
For an enchanting evening’s entertainment I highly
recommend “Educating Rita.”
WHAT: Educating Rita
WHEN: 7:55 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 1:55 p.m. Sunday
through Feb. 23
WHERE:
Olympia Little Theatre, 1925 Miller Ave., NE, Olympia
TICKETS:
$10-$14, available at Yenney Music Company on Harrison Avenue (360-943-7500) or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/profile/23136
INFORMATION: 360-786-9484, http://olympialittletheater.org/
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