SHENANDOAH, directed by Leslie Warwood; Rodgers Memorial Theatre, 292 E. Pages Lane, Centerville; continues Mondays & Thursdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., through June 3. No matinees. All seats reserved. Tickets range from $10 to $12. Group rates for parties of 12 or more. Reservations: 298-1302. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes (one intermission).
CENTERVILLE -- In a time when the anniversary of the war in Vietnam is being observed and there is ongoing debate over guns and violence, "Shenandoah" makes a strong statement about the futility of war and, in particular, the Civil War's impact on a close-knit Shenandoah Valley family.The 1975 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical (John Cullum for "best actor"), based on James Stewart's 1965 movie, works very well on the Rodgers Memorial Theatre's small stage.
Steve Evans (alternating with Dave Hill) does a superb job in the lead role of Charlie Anderson, a Virginia farmer determined to protect his daughter and six sons from the battle closing in around their 500-acre spread.
The general plotline closely follows the movie version (both the stage and film scripts were written by James Lee Barrett), but the 15 songs -- by lyricist Peter Udell and composer Gary Geld -- do not detract from the show's emotional impact.
A rousing prologue, "Raise the Flag of Dixie," establishes the confrontation between the northern Yankees and the southern Confederates.
Anderson is steadfast in keeping his family from joining either side but ultimately is drawn into the fray after his 12-year-old son, Robert (his mother, Martha, died in childbirth) is kidnapped after a Yankee group finds him wearing a Confederate cap . . . and his daughter, Jenny, marries Sam, a Confederate soldier (who is summoned to duty immediately following their wedding vows).
Except for a couple of minor ensemble players, Warwood's cast delivers a first-rate performance. And Warwood's pacing keeps the action moving briskly along.
The musical score ranges from tender ballads to upbeat tunes. The latter include the Anderson boys jubilantly declaring that "Next to Lovin', We Like Fightin' Best," Jenny prodding Sam to marry her before she's "Over the Hill," young slave Gabriel and his best friend, Robert ("Boy"), contemplating their places in society in "Why Am I Me?" (Gabriel has one of the song's best lines: "I'm sittin' here thinkin' I'm Abraham Lincoln and somebody made a mistake.")
Ann (who is married to the eldest son, James) and Gabriel get the second act off to a rousing start with the energetic "Freedom!"
The opening night cast included Trevor Witcher (who is single-cast in the show), as Gabriel, Andrew Noyes as James, Scott Butler as Robert, Ashlee LaPine as Jenny, Becky Thomas as Ann, Blake Petersen as Sam, and Dale Yates as the Rev. Byrd.
Some musicals are hampered by singers who can't act, or actors who can't sing, but Steve Evans does both superbly. You can feel his pain as he mourns the senseless loss of his loved ones to a war he wants no part of. His "Meditation" at the grave site of his beloved wife, Martha, is especially moving, as is "Papa's Gonna Make It Alright."
Evans also does a fine job in "The Pickers are Comin,' " when he explains to his youngest son about Jenny's courtships. One particularly humorous segment is when Charlie offers fatherly advice on the travails of married life to Sam, who is nervously asking for Jenny's hand in marriage.
(The alternate cast, which performs on Thursdays and Saturdays, includes Dave Hill as Charlie, Taylor McKay as the Boy, Angie Cole as Jenny, and Cori Cole as Ann.)
Sensitivity rating: Some staged violence, including a fairly graphic slaying, which may be too intense for small children.