The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek is the first collaboration between Mask and Bauble and the Nomadic Theater groups. After watching the play, the audience might be thankful that this is the first time the two groups have worked together. The story line of the play is muddled, the characters are ridiculous and the presence of a clear message is questionable.
The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek is a story of two adolescents in a poor southern town at the beginning of the depression era. The only excitement that these two individuals have is the challenge of racing the train over the trestle. Pace, played by Joanna Ruf (CAS ‘08), is a fiery 18-year-old girl who plays like a boy but has an innate sexuality about her, which is unheard of in this time. Clark Young (CAS ‘09) plays Dalton, a meek, shy boy, whose entire self-concept is changed through his interaction with Pace. These two actors are the play’s sole redeeming quality. Young should be applauded for his ability to strip down to his sheer white boxers multiple times throughout the production without turning red. Ruf brings a sensuality and intensity to her character that is moving and believable.
The actors are not enough to salvage this play. The main problems lie within the production and the story. There is little character development in the play. Page makes Dalton realize that he wants more in life than he is ever able to achieve. Dalton realizes that he is and always will be nothing, which is made clear to the audience early on in the first act. This message is constantly repeated well into the second act.Each character, with the exception of Page, is boring and flat.
The transitions between each scene are done poorly. This is further accentuated by the fact that time in the play moves non-linearly. When you literally see a character carry a table off the stage, change behind a gossamer screen, then re-enter the stage as the same character a few seconds later, and you are supposed to believe days have passed, it is certainly hard to swallow. This breaks up the practically non-existent flow in the play.
The unusual production of the play almosts suggests that the director knew the play was lacking. There are unexplained single thump sounds heard at random times throughout the play. The music does not fit with the general mood and time period of the piece. Several things occur without exlanation and do not fit in with the general story line. One of the final scenes is so very obscenely bizarre and unexplainable that it overshadows the rest of the play.
There was little hope for the story of The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek but the cast does its best to salvage it. Although it has a few moments in which you think there is a clear and cohesive message and story, these moments are systematically undermined minutes later. Audience members leave confused, puzzled and unable to remember what just happened in the previous three hours.
