Playwright N. Richard Nash, who brought us The Rainmaker in the 1950s, here creates a strange world inside a strange monochromatic room within an asylum -- the world of Echoes. Residents Tilda (Shannon Diana) and Sam (John De Carlo) are in their own special rooms of make-believe.
To call designer David Fahy's set stark is a serious understatement. The walls are white. The door is white. The floor is white. Only the door handle and lock contrast in their glittering, polished brass. However, it is not the room we are examining, it is the minds of the two inmates. Their world is a fantasyland. It is February and they -- two minds attuned to one another -- erect and trim an imaginary Christmas tree. The decorations include a handmade angel, strings of lights and more -- all there for you to see, if you open up your minds.
Their world is complete with love, daily frustrations, pain and happiness. Their unifying force is a desire to be together in their world and to fight "The Person" -- the man who is trying to return them to reality. The Person (Director Raimondo Genna) who speaks by merely mouthing words, appears briefly. His appearance, accompanied by a darkening of the stage, is an invasion into their very special world.
Diana and De Carlo demand -- no, command, our attention. They bring us into the world of Tilda and Sam. De Carlo is the more subdued of the two. His character, at times, is insightful and compassionate but can easily turn to violence. He shows the inner passion of Sam with his eyes, his reactions and his staccato movements.
Diana, as Tilda, is dynamic, a screamer, easily excited, totally bipolar. Often, she takes total command of the stage pushing Sam into a corner, cowering. Diana changes moods electrically, demanding that we follow her.
Tilda and Sam are demanding roles. Diana and De Carlo are always on stage, usually in a high energy state. The two are up to the demands of the play and director Raimondo Genna. While the world they inhabit is occasionally difficult to watch, the two are riveting. Director Genna handles the non-speaking role of The Person, read shrink, read enemy, read antagonist. He fulfills the role well, contrasting their madness with his strong presence.
Echoes can be rough going, for there may be a bit of madness in us all that we'll feel through these characterizations. The cast make us empathize with them against their sworn enemy: reality.
