When is it “time to go” to a place where your health and safety can be ensured on a 24/7 basis? And what must you leave behind?
The prospects and perils associated with growing old are center stage in Good Theater’s regional premiere production of George Eastman’s thoughtful comedy “Harry Townsend’s Last Stand.” Directed by Brian P. Allen, the two-character, two-hour (including intermission) play takes us into the lakeside home of a widowed 84-year-old Vermonter who may be losing his ability to live alone while steadfastly continuing to assert his will to do so.
Played by veteran Will Rhys, Harry puts up a cantankerous front as a visit from a son he hasn’t seen for quite some time raises his suspicions. He initially leans on naughty stories that embarrass and distract the younger man, throwing him off his gradually revealed mission. The laughs and tears within this play make for an engaging and enlightening time at the theater.
Harry believes he has his defenses prepared when middle-aged son Alan, played by local stalwart James Noel Hoban, begins to note the physical injuries as well as the striking memory lapses that indicate to him that his dad can no longer live safely alone.
With great humor tinged with irony, the elder Townsend rails against the prospects of a life full of “antique people” who go on “bus rides to nowhere.” He digs in by suggesting that Alan should come to live with him and spell the son’s twin sister (who’s never seen in the play) from the task of checking on her father with increasing regularity.
The father-son dynamic creates tension as both play on the weaknesses and strengths of their relationship over the years. They re-live old grievances but do find happier moments to remember. They also evoke memories of their beloved wife/mother and how they lost an important connection to each other and to life in general when she passed. Power does shift between father and son but not without much verbal tussling and recrimination along the way.
Actors Rhys and Hoban enliven the comedy and drama of the play through subtle shifts of tone and attitude in compelling performances that make these fine actors a real treat to watch. They know how to make you laugh and break your heart in moments that feel lived in and real.
The set by Steve Underwood, with its suggestions of a full, if faltering, life, fits well with author Eastman’s Proustian view of things holding much more than superficial memories.
The play’s melancholy notion, as expressed by Harry, that older people may no longer be able to “hold up … (their) end” gains poignance. But the spirit still flickering within the old guy in this play suggests his ability to have a positive impact on others will travel with him wherever he goes.
Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.
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