MSO, Playhouse offer familiar, fresh 'Favour'

A collaboration of two art organizations is a challenging thing, but enormously satisfying when it succeeds.

Seven years ago, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Playhouse on the Square joined forces to present a critically acclaimed performance of Tom Stoppard's "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour," a play both dark and funny in which the orchestra becomes a character.

The two groups are coming together next week to present the play again, bringing back some of the players but with some new talent as well.

For director Bob Hetherington -- who helmed the production in 2004 -- it's a good mix of familiarity and freshness.

Hetherington is chairman of the theater and dance department at the University of Memphis. Earlier this week, he took home two Ostrander Awards for directing plays at U of M and Theatre Memphis and has been busy with a new school year starting and doing casting for "Phantom of the Opera." But directing "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" again is a particular delight.

"It's nice to go back and have a second look at something that was new and strange the first time," he said. "Now, with the majority of the cast returning, we're starting over with it and asking how we feel different about it."

Returning cast members include Michael Detroit, Bill Andrews, Irene Crist and Bennett Wood. Michael Gravois, a resident company member at Playhouse, is new to the production as is young Luca Conti. Both, Hetherington says, bring their own perspective.

Stoppard's play, written in the 1970s, tells the story of two men with the same name who are imprisoned in a Soviet asylum. One is a political dissident and the other a schizophrenic who believes himself to be an orchestra conductor.

Hetherington says that even though the Soviet Union no longer exists, the vestiges remain in the persona of current Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, an ex-KGB official. The director says the practice of "punitive psychiatry" still exists under Putin, "so that's where the political heart of the play is -- but on the other hand, it's a Tom Stoppard play, so it revels in laugh-out-loud puns, verbal tricks and absurd situations."

Hetherington says, "these two characters represent two places on the political and theater spectrum. It's reality and politics and absurdity and comedy. And in a hour, you feel completely satisfied you have been taken through a complex, entertaining and enlightening journey."

There are other changes as well besides the cast. For one thing, performances will be at Playhouse on the Square this time, instead of the Cannon Performing Arts Center. Also, David Loebel led the MSO last time, but this time music director Mei-Ann Chen will conduct.

But the message of the play and the questions raised remain the same.

"Are you going to give in or stand up and be an individual voice?" Hetherington says. "We think Stoppard wants us to notice that."

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'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'

8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, and Sept. 10 at Playhouse on the Square, 66 S. Cooper St. Tickets: $15-$38. Call (901) 726-4656, or go to playhouseonthesquare.org.

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