 29 July 2004 |
by Mark Mardon (Excerpts follow)
...Marking my week was the opening of playwright Harry C. Cronin's Dark Matter at Jon Sims Center for the Arts, presented by JSC/Alchemy Emerging Playwrights, and Directed by Alan S. Quismorio.
A major talent, young, dynamic actor Pete Caslavka, carried off a bravura one-man performance, portraying several characters caught up in the drama of a priest sent to prison for molesting a youth. Caslavka exhibited an astounding feat of memorization,
taking us through a long, wordy play without a hitch, never once slacking in energy, falling out of characterization, or faltering for motivation.
He's wondrous to look at, not in an objectifying way, but in the way you'd watch a bullfighter dodging horns, simultaneously at ease with himself and intensely focused. Caslavka played the roles of the disgraced priest: the thug who protects him in jail in order to secure prayers: the boy who was molested; the boy's father; and the young gangster inmate offered to the priest as his fuckable "gift." Caslavka pulled off dazzling feats of characterization, crafting believable personalities that came off clearly and cleanly outlined, all resonating distinctively. The actor portrayed the betrayed youth solidly as confused, angry and prideful, but ultimately forgiving.... |
| SAN FRANCISCO Bay Times July 29, 2004 |
Photo by Rink from the San Francisco Bay Times |
By Gene Price (Excerpts follow)
...Playwright Harry C. Cronin's, new and powerful Dark Matter again explores the devastating personal tragedies fostered by societal, religious and military attitudes towards homosexuality....
•Under the direction of Alan S. Quismorio, actor Pete Caslavka creates a tour de force solo performance...
•Each characterization is remarkably individual in accent and demeanor... Particularly poignant is the seduction scene...
•One of the drama's more intellectually stimulating scenes is the post prison meeting with the alcoholic Bishop... |
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