Veronica's Room
The Connection Article
THEATER
Audience Raves Over 'Veronica's Room'
By SANFORD D. HORN
The Connection
The Connection
June 13-19, 2001
The continuous twists and turns left some audience members wondering what
they had seen when the Elden Street Players concluded its premier performance of
Ira Levin's "Veronica's Room" last Friday evening at the Industrial
Strength Theatre in Herndon.
"The first act was subtly eerie - I was a little uncomfortable watching
it," said McLean resident Jack McFadyen. "The acting was splendidly on
target - it made people think something out of the ordinary was going to
happen."
"I didn't have any idea what was going on," said Kathleen Apple,
who was visiting family from Naples, Fl.
Confused or not, audience members raved about the performance they saw for
its content and its actors.
"I just think Ira Levin is great. He keeps you on the edge of your
seat," said Chris Williams of Gaithersburg, Md. "The ending did
surprise me - I saw it before, but didn't remember it."
"I had a great time. Kate Ranta was wonderful," said Williams of
Ranta's role as "The Girl," a naive college student asked to portray
the sister of a dying girl seeking the forgiveness of the "sister"
before dying.
"The woman's scene at the end was totally awesome," said Williams
of Mary-Anne Sullivan as "The Woman," who had a dramatic exit scene to
end the performance.
"I enjoyed it very much," said Ashbum resident Michelle Amy,
adding, "I knew something weird was going to happen."
"The play was excellent. The acting was superb. I give it a thumbs
up," said Reston resident Carol Cohen.
"Two thumbs up," chimed in Stan Bennett, also of Reston. "It
was bizarre, but very well done. The acting was incredible - they carried their
parts off extremely well."
"We come to almost all the Elden Street Players productions. We love
that they do fresh productions," said Reston resident George Eckert.
"This was excellent. I was not familiar with the material - an element of
surprise - I didn't know what the next twist would be. The acting was very
convincing. I really appreciate that these people donate so much of their
time."
"I heard gasps from the audience," said "Veronica's R6om"
producer John Strycharske, referring to the reactions coming from theater
patrons with the varying twists and turns.
"Veronica's Room" will be performed this weekend, June 15-16 and
the following two weekends, closing on June 30. For more information or to make
reservations for tickets, call the Elden Street Players at 703-481-5930 or
online, check out the Web site at www.EldenStreetPlayers.org.
İThe Connection 2001
Reprinted by permission from The Connection.
