UNM’s production of “Eccentricities of a Nightingale,” written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Shepard Sobel, is so vivid that one leaves wondering what limits of our own we silently accept.
On the eve of World War I, Southern belle Alma Winemiller struggles to survive amid the myriad expectations and conventions society imposes on her.
Alma is brimming with desires deemed improper to share or express. While struggling to contain her passions, Alma becomes a ball of nerves. Her panic attacks and eccentric behavior evoke the ire and disapproval of the small town in which the play is set.
We see Alma desperately fight for her future, even as the prison-like restraints grip her tighter and tighter. UNM’s production of “Eccentricities” makes both the prison and prisoner terribly real.
Alma’s “eccentricities” are jarring: Her arms flit and flow around her, never ceasing, constantly resisting control. These gestures are amplified by her costume’s draping sleeves, which make her movements seem more ethereal than strained.
Any other actress might be tempted to make Alma more likeable or normal, only hinting at her strangeness. However, Amanda Machon portrays Alma with utter conviction, as strange to the audience as to her disapproving town.
In time, however, Alma’s passion becomes so consumptive that you hope as much as she does that she can escape to find the happiness she desperately desires.
At the forefront of her desires is Dr. John Buchanan, Jr, who has just returned to Alma’s hometown, which she has yet to escape. At this point, Alma is not the only person imprisoned by societal expectations.
John is controlled by his doting but fierce mother, Mrs. Buchanan, who prefers he end up with a wealthy, composed girl from the East.
Alma’s father, the Reverend Winemiller, is one of those most opposed to Alma’s affection for John, yet he himself is just as trapped by societal conventions.
He is expected to advise Alma against indulging her feelings, and must also hide his wife, whose decaying mind has become her own prison.
UNM’s production of “Eccentricities” boasts a superb supporting cast, which paints every surrounding character with equal depth and detail. They feel distinctly real, and though you inevitably root for Alma, you also understand and empathize with all those standing in her way.
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The production drags a bit in the middle; a disordered set and somewhat tacked-on sound effects do it no favors. But as Alma fights harder and harder for what she wants, it becomes harder to ignore.
Machon captures Alma in every emotional state, whether trapped, struggling to be free or, finally, transformed.
“Eccentricities of a Nightingale”
by Tennessee Williams
UNM Department of
Theatre & Dance
Experimental Theatre,
downstairs in Popejoy
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m.
general $15
faculty and seniors $12
staff and students $10
Theatre.unm.edu
