Cold Harbor by John Guare. Directed by Lane Savadove. EgoPo Classic Theater in Philadelphia, February 2018
The first part of John Guare’s Lydie Breeze trilogy is unlike any work I’ve ever seen in its vast scope. The most apt comparison is to the Iliad and Odyssey. While not at that sublime level, Guare’s creation does share Homer’s epic style of story-telling.
Multiple plot lines unfold during this exploration of America’s historic experiences. The Civil War battle of Cold Harbor Virginia, analogous to the Trojan War, reveals extreme bloodshed. A sea voyage, analogous to Ulysses’s, is captained by Lydie Breeze’s father, and it leads to a mutiny.
Guare packs a lot into this play — and it’s only the beginning of a three part saga. Some attendees will find Cold Harbor overly crammed, and will crave further explanation of some plot points. Hence, this is a cliff-hanger which makes an apt introduction to Guare’s epic. In particular, a certain incident at sea is presented from two disparate viewpoints, and we sense that we’ve yet to hear a complete explanation of the intra-family struggle.
Markéta Fantová’s set is a wooden fortress and a Union Army sergeant orders wave upon wave of soldiers to advance toward the audience as if we are the Confederates. He cynically promises them “women and water” on the other side. Lydie is part of the nursing team. She collects the soldiers’s valuables to deliver to their loved ones back home if the soldiers should die in action, pinning their treasures to her petticoat. Mountains of bodies pile up in vividly creative staging by Lane Savadove.
Throughout, Savadove’s fluid direction unveils clever touches and manages quick transitions between scenes. Flashbacks show us racial tensions onboard the whaling ship owned by Lydie’s father, and the rebellion of Lydie’s brother against their dad. Other plots reveal corruption within the army, and the development of the underground railway that transported black people to freedom. Jahzeer Terrell is appealing as a young black man who saved crucial information about the clash of the Breeze father and son and passes it along to Lydie.
Melanie Julian gives a remarkably strong performance as Lydie, who develops from an idealistic caregiver into a determined woman of passion. Mark Knight is an appealing presence as Lydie’s father.
We look forward to seeing, in the next installment, more about the three men who accompany Lydie to Nantucket at the end of this play. None of the three, however, have yet to be fully fleshed out by Guare. Dan (David Girard) seems like an opportunist who wants to eat, drink, and possibly have sex with Lydie, but we wonder if there’s more depth to him. Joshua (Charlie DelMarcelle) is an idealistic person who urges Lydie to serve a higher cause. Amos (Ed Swidey) is a simple soul who seems to be an amiable companion but maybe more.
Composer, harpist and fiddler Jay Ansill paired with performance artist Cynthia Hopkins to create music based on traditional American song. Marie Anne Chiment designed the apt costumes and Mike Inwood the lighting. Cold Harbor runs as a stand-alone production until February 11, then will return alongside the next two plays in April. All three will be performed in three-day and single-day marathons at the end of the EgoPo season. I fondly remember seeing Eugene O’Neill’s nine-act Strange Interlude on Broadway with a dinner break in the middle, and this EgoPo production looks to be an even-more remarkable experience, with two meal breaks.
See Steve’s overview of the trilogy here.