Du 5 au 29 octobre 2006

Carmela's Table

By Vittorio Rossi
Directed by Gordon McCall

Carmela’s Table, Part Two of “A Carpenter’s Trilogy” by Vittorio Rossi takes place in the spring of 1957, six months after the fateful events of Hellfire Pass, in which Silvio Rosato, a carpenter and decorated World War II veteran, journeyed from Montreal to a fateful encounter with his long estranged family in Chicago. In Carmela’s Table we journey to Ville Emard, Montreal, where we re-encounter Silvio, this time alongside his recently arrived wife Carmela, and his now-legendary mother, Filomena. Tensions explode when an unresolved issue threatens to rip Silvio and his mother apart. Carmela’s Table may prove to be the only island of hope in a sea of troubles.

“Following the tremendous success of last season’s Hellfire Pass and overwhelming audience demand for more, we are very proud to present Carmela’s Table, Part Two of “A Carpenter’s Trilogy.” GM

Carmela’s Table, la deuxième partie de « A Carpenter’s Trilogy » de Vittorio Rossi, se déroule au printemps 1957, six moi après les événements fatidiques de « Hellfire Pass » au cours desquels Silvio Rosato, menuisier et vétéran médaillé de la Deuxièème Guerre mondiale, a quitté Montréal, sa nouvelle patrie, pour se rendre à Chicago visiter des parents qu’il n’avait pas vus depuis très longtemps. « Carmela’s Table » se déroule à Ville Emard, un quartier de Montréal. Cette fois, Silvio est en compagnie de son épouse Carmela, récemment arrivée au pays, et de sa légendaire mère, Filomena. « Carmela’s Table » est vraisemblablement le seul refuge d’espoir dans une mer de difficultés.

World Premiere

Productions Centaur

Théâtre Centaur
453, St-François-Xavier
Box office : 514-288-3161

 

 

review by Geneviève Germain

Montrealer playwright Vittorio Rossi undertook an ambitious journey: writing a play in three parts named « A Carpenter’s Trilogy ». Centaur Theatre has embarked into and supported his project by presenting last year Hellfire Pass, part one of this trilogy. Taking place in 1956 in Chicago, it made us discover Silvio, a hot-tempered war veteran who reunites with his long-lost father and confronts him with many elements of the past. This year, we are presented part two of this series: Carmela’s Table. Silvio has now emigrated from Italy to Montreal, more precisely Ville Emard, along with his wife, his two daughters, his newborn son and his mother.

If you have not seen the first part of this series, there is no need to worry. Although the play does follow one character’s life story, Carmela’s Table can easily be understood with no prelude, even if both plays hold various similarities, starting with having the same director, Gordon McCall, who manages to insure a nice continuity.

This continuity is first of all personified by Richard Zeppieri, reprising his role as Silvio, who is just as fiery and intense as in HellfirePass. Similarities in the text also help as they still are very much based upon family confrontations and unveiled secrets. Humour has once again a preponderant place as it often lightens up the tense atmosphere. Even the set design by John C. Dinning is just as versatile although pretty much traditional with an open wall kitchen leading to the action-filled backyard. But unlike Hellfire Pass, Carmela’s Table truly manages this time around to create great bursts of emotion and reveals itself to be quite moving.

Contributing to this successful presentation : acting talent. Every cast member seems to be perfectly cut out for their role. Anita La Selva as Carmela, Silvio’s wife, is as loving and patient as we would imagine a motherly figure would be, although she does hold some strong features we are to discover later on. Silvio’s mother, Filomena, played by Mary Long, depicts well the strong headed Italian « Ma » figure, without over doing it. Alongside, Guido Cocomello and Nadia Verrucci as friends of the family are just as accurate.

This is mind we can only hope that part three of this trilogy, taking place in Montreal in 2004, will be as touching and entertaining. One thing is for sure: living up to this kind of quality will be challenging for next year’s team.

10-10-2006

See also
Hellfire Pass
The Carpenter