Heart(wood) and Soul

Elise "The Scorpion" Voigt from Heartwood's spring '08 production of the original work "Gilgamesh."
Steve "The Body" Shema as Gilgamesh in "Gilgamesh."

On a recent January night in Damariscotta a dozen well-fed souls traipsed through the outerspace-like chill to find Tennessee Williams' southern sensibilities of the Wingfields in the latest production of "The Glass Menagerie." After a sumptuous supper on Water Street we hid the remaining food from the surprisingly cagey resident Labrador Retriever, and walked the five minutes to Skidompha.

After the play Heartwood Theater's director Griff Braley called the family "dysfunctional." The production's superb acting, tight pacing and sensitive staging allowed the famously difficult relationships to take center stage in Skidompha Library's intimate lobby.

Go. The play is up into February. It is winter in Maine. Where else are you going to see professional level drama disguised as local theater? Dixie Weisman, Elise Voigt, Kevin Kiley and Steve Shema are great. They listen to one another and know what they are doing. Braley's productions are famously well-paced. This group of actors takes his direction to heart and gives the audience the gift of transparency. The words and story take precedence.