My overall impression
Zenith Ensemble’s first production is a remarkably crafted, confident piece, boasting an excellent script and superb acting. Playwright Cal Barnes takes a standard tale—successful man is visited by a woman from his past who can destroy his future—and infuses it with such depth and originality I was fully riveted by these characters and their story.
Additionally, being raised in a very church-oriented home myself, I was enthralled by Barnes’ depiction of the sincere, yet flawed, young preacher with a past, and the questions he raises about faith, forgiveness, and redemption, especially when these acts are not sincere.
Brett Colbeth’s portrayal of the preacher is something to behold—from the opening sermon he delivers we are truly IN a church. Far from “acting” like a preacher, his nuanced performance fully pulls us into the world Barnes has created. Likewise, Gowrie Hayden infuses the mysterious woman from the preachers past with a truth of character that left me spellbound.
Aaron Lyons direction serves the piece extremely well. His pacing of the action, and especially his direction of the acting, keeps us engaged moment to moment. A true mark of this: on the upstage wall of the stage hangs a very large clock, which upon initially seeing I thought would be a distraction. I did not look at it once in the hour of the show:)
