My overall impression
A fantastic second production from the Zenith Ensemble Theatre group and Actor/Director Aaron Lyons. Overall, the choice to not just produce, but to tackle Shel Silverstein’s ‘The Devil and Billy Markham’ goes right along with Zenith’s mission statement off the bat — a dedication to raw, relentless truth telling, and to produce veraciously thought provoking theatre — the epic poem is a beautiful and masterful piece of writing, and it’s not soft on the story either, it’s thought provoking, and dark, and full of layers, and ultimately it was told with a great deal of truth by its one and only star, Aaron Lyons, who plays both ‘The Devil’ and ‘Billy Markham,’ and also it’s narrator.
The production itself was unlike anything I have ever seen, in fact, I can’t think of a better venue in which to produce this play. Three of clubs — that’s the venue — has all the elements of a space which help uncover the layers of this poem. It’s dark, crimson, and yes ‘seedy’ in a way, but only as it relates to the play, being that it takes place in mostly two locations — a bar, and hell. The red velvet and low lit candles reflected perfectly on the crooning musicians that backed the seasoned actor — Hank Doughan (keys), Kevin Katich (drums), and Carlos Flores (Guitar) — and also the sultry Ruth Fox, who contributed her talents to the production as Billy’s Once-Wayward Wife, and who danced and worked the room in such a way that it served the play to an absolute, in fact, if Aaron’s performance was any less demanding of attention, I would have been perfectly content to watch her the whole time
And that leads me to the last aspect of the production, under the direction of Amanda McRaven, Aaron Lyons portrayal of two fallen characters tied to each other in this eternal game of chance was fully immersive. His talent, and moreover, his experience on stage as both an actor and director proved be not only valuable but essential in telling this epic tail, and despite a few stumbles and missed lines here and there, the rawness in which he told it was relentless. Shel Silverstein’s magnificent prose and use of language takes a certain instinct to grasp, and despite the attraction of the role it would make quick work of any amateur performer. Only a seasoned pro should touch this piece, and they should touch it with a great deal of personal vulnerability to make the heightened world available to the audience, and Aaron does this beautifully… I felt tested and engaged by the themes of story the entire time, which is what the author intended. Grade A work.
After the play I went up and congratulated Aaron, he was soaked with sweat and looked utterly exhausted… yeah… that’s what I’m talking about.
