A View From The Bridge’…a powerful production at Pacific Resident Theatre

A View From The Bridge’…a powerful production at Pacific Resident Theatre
The Examinder
July 13, 2013
By Joan Alperin-Schwartz

When I think of brilliant playwrights, Tennessee Williams, William Inge, Chekov and of course… Arthur Miller, immediately come to mind…

I always jump at the chance to see any of their plays, but no matter how great the play is on the page, in the hands of a bad actor or director, the results could be disastrous.

However, on my way to the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice, to see ‘A View From The Bridge, directed by Marilyn Fox and Dana Jackson, I knew that the production would be anything but disastrous.

After all, over the years, I’ve seen numerous plays at this theatre complex and I have never been disappointed. This acting company does some of the best work in town.

For those of you unfamiliar with Miller’s play…Eddie Carbone (the wonderful Vince Melocchi) is an Italian American longshoreman who resides in Red Hook, Brooklyn with his wife, Beatrice (Melissa Weber Bales) and their niece, Catherine (Lisa Cirincione)

Eddie, to put it simply, has the hots for Catherine Over the years, he’s managed to keep these incestuous feelings hidden, even from himself…But now that Catherine is 17 and about to go out into the world, this is getting harder and harder from him to do…

Eddie is starting to unravel and even, Beatrice sees that something is not quite right with her husband…

When Catherine gets a job offer, Eddie tries to talk her out of it…which prompts Beatrice to ask him…’You gonna keep her in the house all her life’ Eddie replies something to the effect…’that’s crazy…Of course not’, but we know that’s exactly what he’d like to do.

If that’s not bad enough, Beatrice and Eddie haven’t made love in months and when she tries to bring it up to him (in one of the plays most heartbreaking moments) he quickly shut her down. Eddie is a man with enormous emotions that are way too complex for him to understand or articulate. On one hand, he tries to be a good man and do the ‘right’ thing’ for his family.

We see that clearly, when he agrees to house Beatrice’s immigrant cousins, Marco (Satiar Pourvasei) and Rudolpho (Jeff Lorch) who have come over from Italy illegally to work.

Unbeknownst to everyone, this one small act of generosity, will lead to Eddie’s downfall and the unraveling of his family. Eddie Carbone is one of those great tragic figures who we will remember long after we leave the theatre. Rounding out this excellent cast is Robert Lesser (Alfieri) the local attorney and narrator of the piece.

This is a must-see production for anyone who loves theatre. ‘A View From The Bridge’ opened Saturday, June 29, 2013 and closes Sunday, August 25th. Performances: Thursday through Saturday at 8pm…Sunday at 3pm.
Tickets: $20-$28: Group rates available. Location: 703 Venice Blvd, Venice CA 90291 Reservations: Call 310-822-8392 or at www.PacificResidentTheatre.com