The Petaluma River Anthology – a Review by Steve Gilford

It wasn’t long after I moved to Petaluma, seventeen years ago before  I learned that the Cinnabar Theater was a remarkable cultural resource.  Any ideas that it was just an enthusiastic community theater were swept away by the quality of their productions. However, I wasn’t prepared to have one of my most moving theatrical experiences take place at a performance of young actors at a Fairground but that is what happened at the “World Premiere” performance of  Cinnabar Theater’s Young Rep’s original production, “Petaluma River Anthology” held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds on July Fourth.

The play’s name is a reference to the “Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters originally published nearly 100 years ago. It was a collection of short biographies of the citizens of a town called Spoon River. Originally a book, it has been adapted for the stage and is still often produced in community theaters. In “Spoon River”, the characters are both fictional and deceased. In the “Petaluma River Anthology”, the characters most certainly are not. They are alive, vital, and deeply woven into the fabric of the community.

On the surface, the idea for “Petaluma River Anthology” seems a simple one; take a group of children and young adolescents, arm them with video cameras, identify a variety of Petalumans who can shed light on some aspect of Petaluma history and have the students interview them. Then select portions of those interviews to be included in the play and have the interviewers play onstage the role of the people they interviewed.

What happens is a multi-layered theatrical experience. When a pair of teenagers take on the personas of 80 year olds they have interviewed, what comes across is not only the wisdom of the older couple but the realization that the younger actors portraying them have been exposed to that perspective and have internalized it for this production. You know they must have been changed by the experience and that this is a change they may not even be aware of for years to come.  Sometimes, eight decades of experience speaking through a young adolescent is humorous, often it is moving. Several times during the production, I was aware that many in the audience had tears in their eyes.

The Spanish playwright, Lope de Vega, born three hundred years before the founding of Petaluma, described the basic requirement for theater to be just “two boards and a passion”.  Even then, Lope’s statement was an oversimplification but “Petaluma River Anthology” is an example of why you do not need elaborate sets or costumes to have an emotionally satisfying theatrical experience. The production is staged simply but effectively with a few areas representing a living room, study, and office.  The bare apron of the stage is used imaginatively as a BMX track, the Petaluma River, and as a stage for the performance of dance numbers and for the singing of the chorus. Costumes are street clothes, as near to the ones worn when the students interviewed their subjects. An additional layer to the play was added when the director used projected images of the original interviewee on a screen above the stage.

Music makes up a significant part of the production. Traditional and new songs are blended throughout the production and despite the insistent pounding chords of the aptly named Pulsators performing outside on a nearby stage, the “Petaluma River Anthology” singers managed to sing clearly, even beautifully without being distracted by the outside music.  Choreography was basic but appropriate - simple enough for the actors to perform creditably but interesting enough to hold the audience attention. “Petaluma River Anthology” though is an ensemble success and it would be unfair to single out those who have made special contributions a list that includes the Petalumans who provided the raw material for this production.

I am a native of New Hampshire and have several times had the opportunity to see Thornton Wilder’s masterpiece, “Our Town”, set in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Even though the themes of the play are universal, I had the feeling that it was about my home. Now after seventeen years in Petaluma, leaving Herzog Hall after the performance, I once again had the feeling, “This play is about my home.”

In short, I think that if you love Petaluma, you’ll appreciate knowing its history, where it has succeeded and where it has disappointed. “Petaluma River Anthology” is an opportunity to do just that at a performance that also offers a moving and memorable theatrical experience.

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As the audience filed out of the theater, I overheard several people say that they wanted to see “Petaluma River Anthology” again during its run at the Cinnabar Theater. For them and anyone else who would like to get tickets for what seems like an unfortunately limited performance schedule, you can find ticketing details at:

http://www.cinnabartheater.org/cinnabar.2008-petaluma.river.anthology.html   

- Steve Gilford