Suddenly, Last Summer: A Review

I’ve been at every Concord Theatre production since I arrived at Concord three years ago. The actors and the stories told have never disappointed me. 

    When I found out Ms. Karen Vuranch was the new director of the Concord Theatre department after Dr. Gambill’s retirement, I was excited to see what she would do with the program. I had seen some of her one-woman performances, like last Spring’s rendition of Coal Camp Memories, so I wasn’t concerned that she wouldn’t do well, but I was still looking forward to seeing how the department had changed under the first leadership change in my time at Concord. It seemed fitting that my last review as a student would be the first of many productions under Vuranch’s leadership.

    Let me begin by saying that any expectations I had going into Suddenly, Last Summer on opening night were quickly met and exceeded. The set was absolutely beautiful. There was so much detail, from the floor having been painted into a vintage black-and-white checked pattern, to the decade-appropriate props like the wheelchair and physician’s bag. There were lots of opportunities to cut corners, but they denied each of them and the result was a bright, lively set with endless potential for utilization in the play.

    The play choice was a bold one, to put it simply. Tennessee Williams is known for writing plays that are considered risqué and controversial, and Suddenly, Last Summer, exemplifies that perhaps better than any of his works. Set in the 1930s, the play surrounds the plight of a scorned mother trying to convince a specialist to lobotomize her mentally unstable niece before she can reveal the secrets behind her son’s socially scandalous death.

    The play was emotionally charged and fraught with tension, all things which could prove very challenging for student actors. Fortunately, this proved to be an easily surmountable obstacle for Vuranch and her talented team of actors.

    Taking the lead in this play was Brianna Duckworth, a Concord sophomore, played Catherine Holly, the aforementioned niece in danger of having her brain scrambled in a lobotomy at the request of her grieving aunt, Violet Veneble, played by Concord sophomore Megan Purdue. Joining the cast were Sam Stockton as Dr. Sugar, Mary Trent as Mrs. Holly, Trace Crum and George Holly, Brooke King as Sister Felicity, and Summer Wilding as Miss Foxhill.

    The performance was, in a word, stunning. The emotion that the actors were able to evoke in their characters could almost make a viewer forget that they were watching a performance by students and make them believe they were legitimately watching an estranged family feud fueled by anger and sadness and greed. 

    Suddenly, Last Summer, was a fearless first choice for Vuranch’s debut as the director of the Concord Theatre department. There were thousands of plays that would have been easier to produce and much less risky. However, none of those performances would have held a candle to the power of Suddenly, Last Summer.

    Congratulations to Ms. Karen Vuranch and all the students who performed in the play or helped in the production process on an impeccable performance and many future productions to come.