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Issue date: 10/9/05 Section: Tempo

Media Credit: J. Slowick Cast of American Clock [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: J. Slowick American Clock grads/alumni [Click to enlarge]

This year marks Lewis University's Philip Lynch Theater's 30th production year. To celebrate, director Keith White invited alumni to audition for the shows. As a result, 13 of the cast members of "The American Clock" feature three decades of Lewis actors, as well as three members of the Zigrossi family. The celebration kicked off this summer with "Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" and continued this September with "The American Clock" by Arthur Miller. The show runs Sept. 23 to 25 and Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.

"The American Clock" is unique in its blatant criticism of America during the Depression. The story follows the Baum family: Moe (Mike Zigrossi '75 of Joliet), Rose (Wendy McCay '90 of Joliet), and Lee (Chad Tallon of Essex). The family was quite wealthy but lost it all when the stock market crashed in 1929. We see the family steadily decrease in wealth and spirits as the play unfolds. The story is progresses through Lee as he first learns he cannot go to college unless he makes the money himself and then learns even with a college education he may not be able to get a job.

In the end Rose breaks down psychologically as the family hides from tax collectors in their own home. Lee's college buddies (Jonah Schneider '02 of Joliet, Matthew Bartels of Joliet, and Jason Aguirre of Bolingbrook) find hardship as they look for work.

One of them exchanges performing dental work on a prostitute for her favors. We also see Fanny (Sheila Dyer '75 of Joliet), Rose's sister, and her children Lucille (Mary Kate Brophy of Auburn, Wash.) and Sydney (Kevin Schaefer of Frankfort) struggle through the 1930s. Sydney, a struggling songwriter, marries the landlord's daughter in exchange for rent. Along with these tragedies, suicides are discussed. They are seen as almost reasonable reactions to the confusion of the time.

We also see the struggle of the farmers through a short scene at a farm family (Jose Lagunas of Marquette Park, Guinevere Grana of Oak Lawn, and Elizabeth Gonzalez of Ecuador) in Iowa as they watch their home be auctioned off. And, of course, we see the communist (Sue Martin '88 of Joliet) in the relief office.

The play is somewhat narrated by Arthur Robertson (Ernest W. Ray '93 of Joliet), who seems to have an omniscient knowledge of what is going on and may be the representative voice of Miller in the play. He also takes a jab at big business through GE CEO Ted Quinn (Geoff Zigrossi '05 of Joliet). The interlude between scenes is a short song by the cast.

The play is very typical Arthur Miller, with no surprises and the exact ending would expect from the playwright. Though I'm not a huge fan of Miller myself, the Lewis University actors once again pulled off the play amazingly. With a cast of 33 playing some 53 characters, that is one amazing feat.

And no easy feat at that. The entire cast stayed onstage throughout most of the entire play. With the stage being cut in half, the vocal ensemble sat in back, while the front half of the stage was used to act out each scene. The actors were also asked to prepare dance numbers, including one tap dance performance. Though the routines were not excuted perfectly, they were very well in sync. This error was most likely due to the small amount of practice time before the show premiered. Jim Lis played the guitar for a couple songs, which added a unique and pleasant change to the normal repertoire of PLT productions.

One of the most interesting aspects of this play was the music. Though the people of this time were clearly suffering, suicide rates increasing daily, entire family fortunes lost, and the psychological well-being of everyone at stake, the music was upbeat, providing a happy alternative to everyday life. It showed the American public that there was hope; that they did not have to worry because things would turn around eventually, even though times right now are not that good.

I find this so interesting because in today's world we see plenty of music about violence and death. Though we may not live in the world of the 1930s, we live in a time of terrorism, war and devastating natural occurrences. Why don't we have any happy, uplifting music nowadays?

A screen cut like the American flag displaying scenes from the 1930s swung high above the actors. The stage itself was painted as the flag as well. Irony in its fullest, no doubt, as Miller was not suggesting a rise in patriotism. The simplicity of the sets used in each scene allowed the viewer to focus on what was being said.

Harold McCay of Joliet worked on the set while Celeste Mackey of Crest Hill designed over 70 costumes of the production. Junior Leigh Dodd of Montrose was the stage manager. Col. Jilliam Kelm and Christine Jones (both of Homer Glen) worked on props and sound.

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