'The Birthday Party' marked by strong characterization, range

There was no life of the party during IU's production of "The Birthday Party" by Harold Pinter. There were six. The small cast's character interpretations and executions of the many emotional shifts vital to Pinter's work were well done.\nThe show opened Friday night at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre to a nearly full house. In three acts, the audience was taken from a light comedy to a sinister mystery, witnessing the deterioration of the focal character, Stanley, played by sophomore Josh Hambrock. His character is the sole boarder in the drab house of naive Meg and her husband Petey in northern England. He retreats there to hide from his fuzzy past, only to have two suited men, Goldberg and McCann, show up looking for him on his birthday.\nThe first act introduces the audience to the odd routine between Petey and Meg, played by graduate students Harper Jones and Allison Moody, respectively. Their inane dialogue made members of the audience chuckle with the drawn out vowels and Meg's signature question of whether or not something is "nice." \nMoody perfected the borderline annoying, in-your-face, too excitable Meg. Her character is crucial to the play overall because she is the only one of the six who does not go through a change by the end. She remains frighteningly oblivious to the goings on in her own boarding house, and Moody represented this well. \nEnter Stanley, the boarder of Meg's adoration, who cannot disrupt her cheer no matter how many insults he shoots her way. Hambrock's talent for abruptly transitioning between Stanley's moods -- from flirtatious to malicious in a matter of seconds -- contributed greatly to the depth of his character as his life began unraveling in the play. \nWe are briefly introduced to Lulu, played by graduate student Dawn Thomas, but it's long enough to pick up on the sexual tension between her and Stanley, which turns out to be of importance later.\nGoldberg, played by graduate student Jeff Grafton, and his intimidating sidekick McCann, sophomore Matt Thompson Gripe, came to find Stanley at the end of the first act. Grafton's rendition of Goldberg with exaggerated diction and a puffed out chest pleased the audience, especially during heated moments of the plot. Grafton was the most entertaining to watch, keeping a delicate balance between lovable and threatening, topped with a menacing laugh.\nThe second act, the most thrilling of the three, heightened the pace with fast dialogue during Goldberg and McCann's interrogation of Stanley. Fighting, yelling and confusion all came into play as the two suited, mystery guests screamed rhetorical questions such as, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" in unison, throwing their entire bodies into the words. \nThe party for which the play is titled is held at the end of Act Two. By the end of it, sounds of good spirits dropped to reverberations of murder and rape -- staying true to Pinter's method of throwing in odd twists and turns for the viewers to dwell on, leaving a chilling feeling when the act ended.\nThe final act begins with the seemingly normal interaction between Meg and Petey, but the feeling is much different as Petey desperately tries to shelter consistently oblivious Meg from the real events that took place. Hambrock, zombie-like and pale-faced, gave a moving performance of the morphed Stanley, even without dialogue. \nDirector Dale McFadden's blocking of the characters was an intriguing tool. Goldberg and McCann shared choreographed movements from their first appearance in the foggy windows to their interrogation of Stanley and to their exit. Their movements in unison stood out among the hum-drum of Meg and Petey's daily routine. The set, a bland and seedy living room, contrasted with the boldness of the characters, which allowed the audience to see them more clearly. \nIt is a treat to see actors display a wide range of emotions and strong characterizations, which are so essential to Pinter's work. "The Birthday Party" is highly recommended and will be running at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9-14 at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. Tickets are $13 for IU students and $16 for the general public. Visit www.theatre.indiana.edu for more information.