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Regional Reviews: Phoenix Shifting Gears Also see Gil's reviews of Joseph..., The King and I, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up!, Nana's Naughty Knickers
Henry and his wife Annie bought the cabin as a place to spend family vacations. But now that their children are growing up they find that the kids would prefer to be somewhere else. That's mainly due to the fact that their 25-year-old son Junior is now married with a baby on the way and, as 20-year-old daughter Karen states, "there's nothing to do here." In spending just a few minutes with this foursome you quickly see that Henry is set in his ways and prefers to lecture his children by continually yelling at them, which might be the main reason the kids want to be somewhere else. While Henry makes comments like "I've been doing some thinking for you," you also see that he is just trying to hold on to his family, along with his unchanging views and opinions of how men, women and children should behave. As the next generation changes, and shifts their gears into drive, Henry wants things to be the way they are with everyone staying in neutral. Warren adeptly uses the early '60s setting with the world events of the period and the shifting generational gap to show the differences between Henry and his children. Most of the play encompasses character types and traits and situations you've seen before in other plays, on TV shows, and in films, and most of those were done better. But it still amounts to an interesting view of one family that is a stand in for all families, not just ones in the 1960s but even families today where parents and children have different views and opinions. Warren also adds a serious incident to the play to show how life can never be planned and how we all must be able to step back and look at our views and ideas in order to move forward when life gets in the way. Frank Gaxiola is skillful at showing how Henry is tense, uptight and somewhat unhappy with the way his children aren't following the plan that he's set out for them, as well as how his business is having some financial troubles. He is gruff, yells a lot and we clearly understand that he believes he knows best. Yet Gaxiola also successfully manages to portray Henry as an "everyman"—someone who we've all had experience with, the individual clinging to their ways and committed to doing everything they can to hold their beliefs, values, and family together. Henry fought in World War II, and in a well-acted monologue Gaxiola effectively shows how the memories of that experience still come flooding back to him. As Annie, Veronica Carmack-Gasper wisely portrays the patient and dutiful wife. While Annie is usually the quiet one in conversations, Carmack-Gasper's portrayal allows us to not only see how she is the glue that holds the family together but that she has her own dreams as well. Katie Czajkowski is Karen, the daughter who wants to be her own person and no longer live under the shadow and rules of her father, and Sky Donovan is Junior, a man who has found a way to break away from the family binds and is now trying to help his sister do the same. Czajkowski is quite good in portraying Karen not just as the somewhat stubborn girl but as someone who is trying to find her place in life. Donovan, who just a week ago excelled as the flamboyant Carmen Ghia in Scottsdale Musical Theater Company's The Producers, is exceptional as the young man who has figured out how to deal with his father, even if the answer is spending less time with his entire family. Director Daniel Schay stages the action in the small cabin set with most of the more intense moments happening around the kitchen table, which is a perfect location. Schay has crafted realistic performances and relationships from the foursome, with an established sense of familiarity with the touches, glances, and expressions they give to each other. You clearly believe this is a family. Set designer Brett Aiken has achieved a cozy cabin feel with the small set that allows Henry's views closing in on Karen to have even more resonance. Tamara Treat's costumes are period appropriate with Karen's two-piece bathing suit a superb emblem of the changing views between the generations. Shifting Gears may not be a perfect play but it is one that makes you think about your own views, thoughts, and the way you treat your family. That's the most important part of theatre, isn't it, to make you think? Shifting Gears runs through February 1st, 2015, at Theater Works at 8355 West Peoria Avenue in Peoria. Tickets can be ordered at theaterworks.org or by calling 623 815-7930
Directed by Daniel Schay Cast:
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