"VILLAGE WOOING"
"Shaw's 'Village' treats senses ...
"Villa mixes elegant dinner, lively conversation
perfectly"
Reviewed by Linda Jo Scott
Published July 22, 1997, Battle Creek (MI)
Enquirer
Special to the Enquirer
Once again the Union City Victorian Villa offers the most
pleasant, elegant evening of the summer. One really ought
to arrive a half-hour before dinner in order to walk the
gardens, meander through the exquisite bedrooms (those that
are not occupied, of course), even take those steep
third-floor steps up into the cupola.
Out by the gazebo, one sees a mostly empty punch bowl and
many tables covered in white, the remains, no doubt, of a garden
wedding earlier that day. At six, dinner is quietly, elegantly served in the
tastefully added dining annex.
Champagne, salad made from greens already spotted in the Villa gardens, sourdough rosemary bread, fresh blackberry sorbetti,
old-fashioned pot roast, "decadent mocha fudge mousse pie,"
it is all one could imagine for a fancy dinner.
Katari Brown and John Sherwood in "Village
Wooing"
One then retires to the large tent in the garden for
another one of John Sherwood's magical evenings. This time
Sherwood has chosen not Houdini, not Sherlock Holmes, but a
short three-act delight by George Bernard Shaw called
"Village Wooing."
When one hears of an evening of Shaw on top of such
sumptuous food, one fears some accompanying yawning and
snoring. But not this Shaw! Even though he was able to
weave in many of his favorite hobby horses, such as women's
rights, the differences between the sexes, economics, and
the role of the writer in shaping opinion, he did it with
amazing brevity and light humor.
All told, "Village Wooing" was a perfect choice. It
consists of three conversations which take place in the
early '30s between a rather testy Shavian gentleman and a
plucky village shopkeeper. The first occurs on board the
Empress of Patagonia on the Red Sea. The second occurs some
months later, in the village shop/post office/telephone
office in the Wiltshire Downs of England. And the third
finds its venue in that same shop, several months
later.
Sherwood and his wife, Katari Brown, gave their usual
scintillating performances. Consummate artists with clever
banter, they carried the showto its ultimate romantic
ending without a moment's lapse.
After the performance, Sherwood and Brown invited the
audience to join them on the deck for drinks and music. The
lively conversation en route and between numbers seemed
merely a continuation of the play. Even their skillful
British accents lingered, ever so lightly, ever so
naturally.
In conclusion, gentle readers, take a step back into time.
Treat yourselves to an evening that will make you feel as
though you've made a quick trip to England and back, for a
fraction of the cost or bother!
Linda Jo Scott is on the faculty of Olivet College.
Contact JOHN
C. SHERWOOD by e-mail.
MysteryVisits.com
West Grove, PA 19390
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