Jan Meyer and Gwennyth Rausch in Elephant’s Graveyard. Photo courtesy of First Run Theatre.
“A mostly funny play about, well… death”
As any fan of Golden Girls can tell you, an older female ensemble has a certain kind of magic. Nobody else can fire off venomous zingers with such warmth, wit, and affection. Nobody else can grapple with serious topics—like end-of-life decisions—with such wisdom and sensitivity. Elephant’s Graveyard, written by local playwright Marjorie Williamson, plays out like a special episode of Golden Girls—one with unusually high stakes and higher levels of pathos.
This was my second time in the audience of First Run Theatre, and I expected first-rate work. This was also the second show written by Ms. Williamson that I have seen. Williamson is a frequent collaborator with First Run Theatre; her one-act play, “Cash Flow,” was included in the company’s summer double feature.
As the name implies, First Run Theatre performs never-before-seen plays. That doesn’t mean, however, that the actors and directors aren’t experienced. Rob Corbett, director of Elephant’s Graveyard, has deep ties to the St. Louis theater community. He has worked on a variety of shows (including an upcoming stage adaptation of the classic 1960s film The Graduate), but his experiences with First Run rank among his favorites. “It’s exciting to perform a play that has never been seen before, but also challenging. It’s an experiment. We don’t always know if our production will match what the writer had in mind.”
Elephant’s Graveyard tells the story of Maragret (Gwennyth Rausch) and Smitty (Jan Meyer), who have been best friends since college despite their clashing personalities. Margaret had a modestly successful (if conventional) life: she married young, had two children, shelved her dreams of a dazzling career, and settled into a nice, stable job at an insurance company.
Smitty, meanwhile, kept her 1960s counter-culture spirit well into her seventies. She traveled the world and had one affair and adventure after another, stubbornly refusing to commit to any one man or fixed address. Now Smitty is single, has no children—in fact, has no company of any kind (aside from Margaret and an ill-tempered lapdog).
Margaret envies Smitty’s freewheeling spirit and longs for one last adventure with her old friend; however, she is dying of cancer and her window of opportunity is rapidly closing. Smitty, meanwhile, is terrified by the possibility of losing her one true friend. What was the point of blazing her own path and meeting so many people, only to end up alone?
Williamson is a software and graphic designer by trade and her work has adorned First Run’s playbills and adverts, including the playbill for Elephant’s Graveyard. The design is a still life featuring tea cups, a bottle of whiskey, a pack of Camels, and a Zebra Cake with a birthday candle. It’s an assortment of comforting (and potentially deadly) things that perfectly represents the experience shared by Margaret and Smitty. As Smitty might say, “We’re at the end of our lives—why not live a little? If it doesn’t kill us, something else will.”
The chemistry between Rausch and Meyer is marvelous. One gets the sense that the two are the closest of friends—close enough to finish each other’s jokes, close enough to share the deepest, darkest secrets, close enough to argue, weep, and rage without restraint. Rausch and Meyer ably keep up with Williamson’s ever-flowing dialogue and sharp comedic asides. The show has some contemporary touches, along with a timeless feel. The excellent set design is complete with tacky ornaments, supermarket junk food, and landline phone; it conjures up the intimacy of a kitchen table conversation and captures the messiness of life.
Williamson is not the only person who plays a double role. In addition to playing Margaret, Ms. Rasuch is also the creative director of First Run Theatre company. She guides the company’s “blind” script selection process, which anonymizes authors and reduces potential bias. Many of the Midwestern writers who submit to First Run are part-timers who have never had their work performed live. The company provides an excellent opportunity to aspiring writers, yet their rigorous selection process ensures high-quality work.
This is the first performance of Elephant’s Graveyard, but hopefully not the last. The experiment was a success, and the standing ovation was proof.
Elephant’s Graveyard runs from now until Nov. 24. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Black Box (501 N. Grand Blvd.) on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM; there’s also a 2:00 PM Sunday matinee. If you enjoy the show, be sure to check out First Run’s colorful “Spectrum Show” this spring—a showcase of brand-new short scenes that will put the actors’ skills to the test. | Rob Von Nordheim
