The Curious Savage is a quick-witted and quirky comedy performed at the Southeast Whitfield County High School theater by Dalton State College of Communication and Theatre. It tells the story of an elderly and recently widow Ethel Savage (Adrian Thompson), whose husband left behind a large inheritance of $10 million in bonds. She plans to give the entire fortune away to set up a fund in her husband’s name to help others realize their hopes and dreams. Her stepchildren, unhappy with how she plans to spend the money, has her committed in order to gain control over the inheritance. Her greedy stepchildren Samuel (Levi Witt), Titus (Danny Solorzano), and Lily Belle (Madison Hammons) have committed her to a high-priced mental institution called The Cloisters so they can keep the inheritance for themselves and save their legacy.
It`s here, at the Cloisters, among the various patients that Ethel befriends five patients realizes she found her true happiness with them and calls them family. Although they are damaged people with obvious emotional disorders, they are people who genuinely love and accept each other for who they are. Before any of her children are able to claim the money, Ethel hides the money. She sends her children on a series of wild goose chases for the inheritance just to humiliate them and how they’ll do anything for money while her friends help her get rid of stepchildren.
The performances of the five patients are the true highlight of The Curious Savage. The play has its fair share of quirky and eccentric character like Steven green as Jeffrey, a “shell-shocked” piolet with a spotty memory and believes he has a facial scar. Antonia Beardon who plays Florence, a woman who believes the doll she carries is her five-year-old son named John Thomas. Jake Baker who plays Hannibal, a former statistician who now thinks he is a violinist after taking up the instrument long ago without any training. Laurie Raper who play Mrs. Paddy, a woman who remains mostly silent but only speaks to announce what she hates.
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Adrian Thompson plays the blue-haired Mrs. Savage herself with a skewed viewpoint on humanity. She did a good job of showing the wide range of expressions and emotions as Mrs. Savage. She maintains her calm and composure with a wonderful sense of humor while dealing with her mean-spirited greedy stepchildren or the strange patients in the asylum. She shows affection and a motherly kindness to the characters who deserve it and bitterness to those who don`t.
Although each actor gets to own moment to shine on stage, the character that stood out the most had to have been Fairy May (Dezirea Beavers). She`s a manic yet lovable and innocent character who`s just full of bizarre stories. Despite her frumpiness and plainness, thinks she is beautiful. She hits just the right amount of manic with going in-between giddy and grading. Beavers expressed this character with a variety of facial expressions, voice tones, and hand gestures which made the character`s mannerisms all the more exaggerated yet believable even when she just simply seated
The set of the play was set exclusively inside the living room of The Cloisters. With its warm blue walls and antique furniture, the attention to details are spot on. The costumes correctly match the temperament of the characters like Lily belle`s luxurious dresses, Mrs. Paddy`s tunic that shows how reserved she is, and Fairy May`s colorful dresses that show how child -like she is. The door on the far left side of the state also doubled as an entrance and exit. The music played between each intermission matched the time period of the play and made it feel calm compared to the craziness that unfolded on the stage.
The Curious Savage is a comedy that compares the friendly and kind characters in the Cloister to the mean and money drove stepchildren. In the end, the audience is left feeling that the virtue of kindness has not been entirely lost in a world that seems at times motivated by only greed and dishonesty. The audience is also left perplexed as to who is truly insane, the loyal and sweet occupants of the institution or the vanity filled Savage stepchildren who are considered to be the pillars of society in the outside world.
