HAROLD AND MAUDE

VINTAGE THEATRE: 10/3 – 11/9

                          Jose Zuniga and Deborah Persoff

     The wait is over! “Harold and Maude” is now on view at Vintage Theatre. Based upon the screenplay of the cult favorite 1971 movie, Colin Higgins’ stage adaptation is both poignant and funny.

     Director Pam Clifton has done a superb job bringing this show - full of daunting special effects - to the stage. Clifton elicits strong, affectionately drawn performances from a well-chosen cast and paces the show at an appropriately casual clip that allows us to savor the delicious moments that arrive regularly in this dark romantic comedy.

     Deborah Persoff (“Grey Gardens” and “The Lyons”) plays Maude with a vital earthy vigor that is endearing. Persoff imbues Maude with a palpable inner warmth that’s luminous.

     

      Deborah Persoff and Jose Zuniga

      Jose Zuniga is Harold, a manically depressed young man whose obsession with death leads him to attend the funerals of complete strangers. It’s at one of these memorial services that Harold meets Maude. Zuniga, who was critically acclaimed for his portrayal of Alan Strang in the Vintage Theatre production of “Equus,” succeeds wonderfully enacting the passive aggressive behaviors of Harold. His journey from morbidity to joie de vivre is heart opening!


                            Sheri Right and Samara Bridwell

      Sheri Right plays Harold’s mother Helen with a smooth self-absorbed nonchalance that makes us see why her son is acting out. Elegantly dressed in Christine Samar’s wardrobe design, Right tries to get Harold interested in three young women from the dating service - all played with consummate skill by Samara Bridwell.

     The piggyback set by Douglas Clarke is thoroughly well designed allowing us entrance to Maude’s home above and Harold’s mother’s house below.

     Sonsharae Tull plays Marie, a housemaid who becomes increasingly unnerved by Harold’s morbid vignettes. Ms. Tull is aided in no small part by the increasingly “freaked out” wigs created by Megan O’Connor.

     Joey Wishnia is Father Finnegan, a priest who, while unable to condone Harold’s ‘eccentricities,’ reveals more about himself than his beliefs about life, in a speech that, while somewhat brief, brings gales of laughter from the audience.

     Joseph Wilson is Dr. Matthews, the psychoanalyst who tries to cure Harold. The therapy scene in which Harold mirrors the doctor’s body language is hilarious.

     Lynn Nicholson’s Inspector Bernard is the voice of social conformity. His adherence to what the consensus believes to be common sense provides exaggerated contrast to Maude’s outrageously openhearted approach to life.

Vintage Theatre presents

“Harold and Maude”

Oct. 3 - Nov. 8*

Fri/Sat at 7:30 p.m.; Sun at 2:30 p.m.; Thurs. Nov. 6 @ 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 8 @ 2:30 p.m.

$26 ($21 advance); Groups of 6+ $18
303-856-7830 or online at www.vintagetheatre.com

Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora 80010

*Please note Date Change from (Oct 17 - Nov 16)Marlowe's Musings