<< Back 11/13/02 ‘Arcadia’ completes HART season By Michael Beadle Arcadia Where: Performing Arts Center in Waynesville When: Opening Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. Other 7:30 p.m. shows will be Nov. 16, 22, and 23. The lone 3 p.m. Sunday matinee will be on Nov. 24. How much: $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $6 for students Info: 828.456.6322 Man is a tragically curious creature. He postulates formulas about how the universe operates from the fundamental building blocks of matter to the infinite reaches of space to the chaos of nature. And though such mysteries reveal themselves like waves upon the shore of time, even the tediously trained scientist cannot fathom the marvels of the universe, for no mystery proves to be as unexplainable as that enormous emotional ocean surging within the human heart. Though man may boast of his reasoning skills, he is still hopelessly unequipped when it comes to the power of love. Ah, the paradox of wisdom. The more you know, the more you don’t know. But even this theory needs testing, and the true power of the scientist lies in the brave and earnest attempt to prove or disprove a theory. Tom Stoppard offers a most noble attempt in the form of a play called “Arcadia,” a cerebral, time-travelling drama mystery marked by the kind of keen wit and humor that earned him glory for his screenwriting in the Oscar-winning film “Shakespeare in Love.” Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre tackles “Arcadia” for the concluding production of its 2002 season, a season marked by large casts, risky plots and elaborate musicals. This is not your light and fluffy stage finale. As is often the case, the final show of the season tends to be a little headier than the comic musicals or action-packed period pieces offered earlier in the season. And so it is with “Arcadia.” Though the cast may be small, the plot is giant in scope, delving into the Romantic poetry of Lord Byron, the laws of physics, and the literary theories behind garden landscaping. Audiences will need patience as the characters wade through heavy topics. To complicate matters further, there are two different time periods — one set in early 19th century, the other in present time. In the 19th century scene at an English estate, a scandalous, philandering tutor (Septimus Hodge, played by Graham Livengood) spends his daily hours teaching a brilliant, lovely teenage student (Thomasina Coverly, played by Lorraine Lorocque). Thomasina shows a gift for solving mathematical equations but seems more preoccupied with the prevalent acts of “carnal embrace” that occur around her predominantly adult world. As one might guess, Septimus falls for Thomasina. (You can almost hear Sting singing “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” Police hit: “Young teacher, the subject of of school girl fantasy ....”) Meanwhile, back in the present, at the same English estate years after the Septimus affair, two scholars try to piece together clues that perhaps Lord Byron, who once stayed at this very estate, shot and killed a lesser known poet in a duel while he was there. Bernard Nightingale (played by William Hendry) and Hannah Jarvis (played by Kane Clawson) engage in a kind of legal battle over the evidence that could prove to be the literary scandal of the century. “Basically it’s a detective story and a love story,” said Director Lloyd Kay. Though it seems like a lot to go back and forth between the two time periods, the play’s set is fixed with one long table. One time period stays on one side and the other remains on the other end, though by the end, these two separate worlds begin to merge as the two stories converge. This is classic Tom Stoppard theater. For those unfamiliar with his work, Stoppard was born in Czechoslovakia and found fame in England’s National Theatre with his play, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” which was a take-off on two of the minor characters in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Having penned a dozen or so plays, he’s also worked for film, including Steven Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun” and the fictional behind-the-genius story of how Shakespeare may have written “Romeo and Juliet” in the smash hit, “Shakespeare in Love.” As Stoppard did for “Shakespeare in Love,” some of the best parts in “Arcadia” are the women’s roles — passionate, poetic and witty. Though the subject matter in “Arcadia” will probably be too obtuse for most audiences to take in even if Cliff’s Notes are provided in the play’s program, the relationships between the characters are the key to understanding the story. “The emotions drive the play,” said Lorocque, a Sylva actress who gives a powerful performance as the seemingly innocent genius eager to find true love. She is much like that tiny match stick ready to be scratched and ignited. With quite a few parallels of romance, ambition and the quest for knowledge, “Arcadia” leaves us to wonder if human nature really changes that much over the course of a few hundred years. Is man any closer to solving those great mysteries of the universe? Can we truly understand history by organizing the facts of what happened or do our own preconceptions cloud our judgments? Will all this talk merely confuse or enlighten the audience? There may be two distinct theater-goers here — a) the ones who get bogged down in all the scientific and cultural jargon and snub “Arcadia” as one of those plays strictly meant to be read and not performed, or b) the ones who love all the intricately woven themes, subtexts and clever conversations about philosophy, language, science, and human nature and see “Arcadia” as a literary masterpiece. Having worked with a carefully chosen, dozen-member cast for about a month, Kay has come to believe a little of both. “The play is brilliant,” said director Lloyd Kay. “It’s got so much information in it that it’s hard to absorb it all in one sitting.”