GRACELAND
A few weeks ago I happened to watch on TV a little of Elvis Presley’s 1968 comeback tour. There he was, surrounded by adoring fans, not yet fat, his eyelids drooping only slightly with the foreshadowing of drug abuse, still looking gorgeous in black leather. He was great. He was funny. He was the King.
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Quando Productions’ Graceland and Asleep on the Wind, two one-acts by Ellen Byron, brought that concert immediately to mind: they capture that same wistful quality even as they pay tribute to Elvis’s memory. These one-acts, essentially character studies, embrace the lives of a few people who have taken Elvis as their savior, and show us what effect that choice has had.
Director Betsey Cassell and her capable actors have developed a rough but loving production of these two intimate plays. True, there is nothing brilliant about Quando Productions’ first venture, nothing stands out as a particularly insightful choice. But everything here–acting, directing, design–fits together to create a simple, straightforward environment in which the plays can speak for themselves.
