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July 7, 2006
Holland is outstanding
Tuesdays conveys bittersweet truths about life.
BAILA LAZARUS
In Tuesdays With Morrie, Mitch Albom (Warren Kimmel) is
a late-30s sportswriter who takes "Type-A" personality
to a whole new level. He has returned to the company of his old
sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz (Antony Holland).
When the two first met at Brandeis University, Morrie caught Mitch
as he was about to sneak out of class, shook his hand and said he
hoped they'd always be friends. It developed into a mentor-tutor
relationship that seemed to touch Mitch at the time. He promised
to stay in touch with the professor upon graduation, but never did.
Sixteen years later, Mitch catches an interview with Morrie on Nightline,
where he is describing what it's like to be dying of amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease).
Feeling guilty for not having kept in touch for so long, Mitch pays
Morrie a visit, thinking he'll go and say hello for a bit and then
leave. Of course, the one visit turns into two and Mitch ends up
visiting weekly, on Tuesdays, until the end.
The story is based on the best-selling memoir of real-life sportswriter
and broadcaster Mitch Albom, who did graduate with a degree in sociology
from Brandeis and did have a professor who was a mentor to him.
He then added master's degrees in journalism and business administration
and went on to become a nationally syndicated sportswriter and broadcaster
and the best-selling author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven,
among several other books.
Tuesdays With Morrie, which Albom wrote in 1997, was made
into a movie starring Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria, and produced
by Oprah Winfrey, and finally into a play, which debuted off Broadway
in 2002. Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher collaborated with Albom on the
writing.
Seeing how accomplished the real Mitch is, it would have been nice
if Kimmel, on this occasion as he has on others, could have risen
to greater heights than he did on stage, where he put in a rather
uninspired performance. Perhaps the fault lies as much on the director
for not allowing Mitch's character to grow one iota between the
time he first starts visiting the ailing professor and the time
Morrie dies.
At the beginning, Mitch is unsure of how to act around his old professor
and ends up being insensitive. When Morrie tries to talk about ALS,
Mitch interrupts, asking him if he's ever seen the movie about Lou
Gehrig with Gary Cooper. Mitch goes on to recite the line, there's
an uncomfortable silence, and no one talks.
Fast forward through the summer months as Morrie's breathing gets
shallower and needs more help. Mitch has been visiting every week,
learning about Morrie and the disease, but is still as insensitive.
When Morrie asks Mitch to help him shift in his wheelchair, Mitch
makes all kinds of excuses to avoid even touching the sickly man.
Was the real Mitch that much of a stone that he was untouched by
all the discussions with his teacher?
Holland, however, is beyond criticism in his superb presentation
of the dying Morrie, waxing on about life, making jokes about death
and, in general, being an old, warm soul. When he starts to talk,
his feeble voice breaking every now and then, it's as if the whole
audiences hushes to hear his pearls of wisdom: "I wish I'd
been aware of death every day of my life," he tells Mitch.
Or, "The leaves on the trees are most colorful when they're
about to die."
Holland has been acting for more than six decades and was the founder
of Studio 58 at Langara College and its director for 20 years. His
experience shows in every rasp, portraying the bittersweet ending
of the professor's life in a way that made one almost wish he had
been alone on the stage for the play, without the help of straight-man
Kimmel.
Tuesdays with Morrie runs until July 29 at the Arts Club's
Granville Island Stage. Tickets are $25-$35.50, with discounts for
students, seniors and groups. Call Ticketmaster, 604-280-3311, or
the box office, 604-687-1644, or visit www.artsclub.com
for information.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and
illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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