Opening night felt like homecoming as audience members once again joined perennial orphan Homer Wells, obstetrician/abortionist Doctor Larch, and their kith and kin for Book-It's season opener "The Cider House Rules Part Two: In Other Parts of the World." We last left Homer (Connor Toms) as he set out to explore the world outside of the St. Clouds orphanage in the company of lovers Candy (Emily Grogan) and Wally (Richard Nguyen Sloniker) at the end of Part One. After a Cider House-less summer, the terrific ensemble cast returns with the addition of six new members to present another high-energy installment in the dramatization of John Irving's novel.
In Part One, the poignancy of the situation moved us; as we witnessed failed adoptions, anguish over abortion, unwanted orphans, disability and death. Audience emotional involvement increases in Part Two as we witness the trials of the characters we have grown to care for. We accompany Homer in his quest to make a life outside of the vocation of abortionist envisioned for him by Dr. Larch, to maintain the moral high ground in a love triangle and to acknowledge his son-father relationship with Dr. Larch (a struggle shared by Larch.) We witness with sadness Larch's inevitable aging and deterioration, and sympathize with orphan Melony's (Terri Weagant) ongoing obsession with Homer.
But Part Two is not the grim soap opera that a recounting of its plot might lead one to believe. It is full of the joy of good companionship, love and discovery. And as presented in the minimalist Book-It style, it involves the audience by making us complicit in our own suspension of disbelief, not unlike the experience of reading a good novel. A bench can be a table or a bed, a platform can be an airplane over Burma as well as a cider house roof with a view of the ocean, and actors tapping their fingers on the stage floor are the sound of rain hitting a tin roof. The bluegrass inspired compositions of Dan Wheetman played by a crew of musicians who slide in and out of character roles provide a fitting accompaniment to this small town story filled with universal themes.
Peter Crook as Dr. Larch and Connor Toms as Homer Wells once again excel as the intelligent emotional heart of the drama, but there are many other notable performances in an overall great cast. Mary Murfin Bayley is super as Wally's buttoned up New England mother whose reticence makes her rare shows of emotion all the more poignant. Marcel Davis manages to elicit sympathy alongside outrage as the sinister, morally confused orchard foreman Mr. Rose. Terri Weagant once again commands our attention in the physically demanding role of tough orphan Melony. Emily Grogan's Candy maintains a believable sweetness while exasperating with her own attempts to achieve the high ground through emotional intelligence. Jon Lutyens as the imagined Dr. Fuzzy Stone neatly tap dances his way through Dr. Larch's ether-fueled dreams.
The Cider House Rules Part Two begins with a short narrative of the events that took place in Part One, so it is not strictly necessary to see Part One in order to enjoy or follow the events in Part Two. But Book-It is offering a few "marathon" days in which audiences can view both Parts I and II, with Madrona's St. Clouds restaurant serving dinner in the lobby between performances. The Cider House Rules plays through October 16 at Book-It Repertory Theatre. For more information go to www.book-it.org.
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