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Review
American Fiesta
At the Vineyard Theatre
May 6, 2007
Morgan Wycks
mwycks@nyconstage.org
It was just a matter of time before someone did a one-person show about
Fiesta Ware. Why the production American Fiesta has been given a
relatively lavish and sleek production with a top-drawer director, Mark Brokaw,
is anybody's guess. It's not to say that its writer/performer, Steven Tomlinson,
doesn't have the right to such a production, it's just that I could have
garnered as much from visiting his home and having a nice comfortable chit-chat
with him (or any other number of Fiesta Ware aficionados around the globe). Mr.
Tomlinson is amiable, knowledgeable and has a fair amount of interesting
stories. But the purpose of his show is pretty slight. It doesn't take Fiesta
Ware to inform one that America needs to embrace all colors, creeds, etc. and
that every one of us is chipped, deformed and imperfect in ways that make us
unique. Or that we will all hopefully one day fit together as snugly as the
different sizes and colors of the Fiesta Ware mixing bowls do. Yes, like Fiesta
Ware, it is achievable that we as a nation will all go together as one beautiful
collection despite our many differences.
Mr. Tomlinson, a gay man, sees himself as an imperfect piece through the eyes of
his perfect Republican parents, and as the owner of a special bowl with a chip -
the imperfection with which he so readily identifies - he must get it repaired.
At a Fiesta Ware convention, he learns from the one person who can mend damaged
pieces that not only is she blind but that for her the chips and bumps in one's
formation reveal stories and histories vital to the life force of any existence
whether its inanimate or not. The message, at least through my tired, wizened
eyes, is a bit precious.
Mr. Brokaw keeps Mr. Tomlinson moving adroitly among the ceramics (no bull in
this china shop) and helps him to delineate each character clearly. If there's a
mistake, it's allowing us to start counting the number of shelves and their
empty spaces that need to be filled by a vase, a creamer, a set of candlesticks
and more (much, much more) before we come to the end. Thankfully, sometimes two
or three empty slots get filled with each of Mr. Tomlinson's acquisitions.
...end
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