Review: "Beast on the Moon" a powerful experience

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OSHKOSH, Wisc (WFRV)

Here is a description of aftermath for a survivor of genocide: “There was something crawling inside of him, looking for a way to get out.”

That is the crux of the crust of Aram Tomasian, an Armenian man new to Milwaukee whose family lay dead in his homeland. Aram’s future is just arriving – his bride by arranged marriage, age 15. Like Aram, Seta is an orphan.

Aram has brought rigid ways from his upbringing with him. Baggage from the slaughtering by the Turks is an add-on. More baggage lies in wait and weight for he and Seta.

These are kernels in the powerful play “Beast on the Moon” that is being presented by University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Theatre through March 8 in Experimental Theatre of Fredric March Theatre on campus.

The production provides rare opportunities.

“Beast on the Moon” is proven, having been translated into 20 languages and performed in 25 countries. The play’s brilliance is recognized.

Its playwright, Richard Kalinoski, present. He is of the UW-Oshkosh Theatre faculty, with his office just down the hall from the performance space.

The playwright is directing. Things are done as best as he can make them in this given circumstance.

Hello! That is quite a trifecta.

Richard Kalinoski’s strength in directing comes through in the performances as he influences the players to develop the many nuances of the characters. This is especially true of Maxwell Benitz and Ali Basham, who keenly and sensitively portray the tinderbox relationship of Aram and Seta.

So much is fragile between Aram and Seta, and that is always in sight in the portrayals.

This is a beautiful play made from seeds of ugliness.

“Beast on the Moon” provides a picture of an immigrant experience for many Americans. It looks at the arrival, in this case in the 1920s (Act I). And it looks at the development – what changed, what didn’t, what life in America has come to mean for this arranged-marriage couple, now in the 1930s (Act II).

Providing the overriding arc is The Gentleman, who has multiple facets. He is a man of age. He is looking back, telling the story of Aram and Seta. At the same time, he is telling his story. He provides a perspective on his life with Aram and Seta – not judgmental, not emotion-ridden, just descriptive. The Gentleman also is seen as someone in the life of Aram and Seta, a ragtag boy, Vincent.

As the Gentleman, Christopher Flieller is an expert, finely tuned. As Vincent, Dawson Fish resonates the lifeforce of youth.

All the performances are carefully knit, by the players and by Richard Kalinoski.

This and that:

+ In a perfect world, the audience would be an individual person seated on a couch in the living room of Aram and Seta in a bungalow in Milwaukee. The two would be observed close at hand, very personally. Out of necessity, that living room in this production is expansive, so as to seat an audience – which was sold out Friday night, by the way. So much about the play is realistic, and the space stretches that effect.

+ A scrim is used as a backdrop. Front lighted, it is a wall in the living room. Backlighted, the impression given is that of a sidewalk immediately outside with a silhouetted view of a skyline of Milwaukee of urban buildings and church spires.

+ A hand mirror is a prime element. It is a gift. It is an inkling of warmth and hope in Aram, who is so short on one and so full of the other. Images in the mirror come into play meaningfully at important points along the way.

+ Family is a major element – Aram’s family broken, Seta’s family broken, Vincent’s family broken. Aram and Seta trying to make a family.

+ Marriage is a major element. Husband’s perceived role, his perception of the wife’s role. Seta’s dynamic with a stranger, Aram, and his rules for living and how Seta fits into that, and how Seta obliges to a point. Their trying to make babies. Aram’s overwhelming desire to make babies… make a family. Life in this family is on pins and needles.

+ America is a major element. Through Aram’s work as a portrait photographer, bits and pieces are told about how America is a giant magnet for so many souls from so many places in his ethnic neighborhood.

+ A photograph is a major element. It is of Aram’s father, mother, brother and sister. Ever present, with mysterious factors, the photograph becomes the impetus for the climax.

+ In ways, Richard Kalinoski is a chronicler. His writing is that of a historian putting together nuts and bolts of events of specific times and places. And then he rises above with ingredients of artfulness. The mirror means so much. The placement of Wrigley Spearmint gum is a stroke of Americana and humor in a highly charged moment in the lives of Aram and Seta. A boy’s reflection on breathing elevates the playgoing into realms of imagination. This play is way beyond being a hardware store of nuts and bolts. That is why “Beast on the Moon” resonates with so many theater entities – and likely their audiences – around the world. I don’t know how much this is shared, but I felt an honor being the presence of the play performed so well and guided so well in the direction by its creator.

Creative: Playwright – Richard Kalinoski

Director – Richard Kalinoski

Assistant to the director – Ellie Thirsten

Dramaturg – Laura Jean Baker

Costume design – Kathleen Donnelly

Lighting design – Mark Spitzer

Scenic design – Patrick Immel

Sound design – Nate Wolkoff

Technical director – Mark Spitzer

Production stage manager – Amanda Penkivech

Props – Shelby Edwards

Cast: