June 11, 2002 – Better for us that "For Better For Worse" is running this month at UVI's Little Theater. The show, a David Edgecombe revival from the early 1970s, has a touch of Paul Keens Douglas, a bit of vaudeville, a hint of sitcom, and maybe just a whiff of Ibsen to keep things interesting.
Incorrectly billed in some media as a play about teenagers struggling with their parents, Edgecombe's play centers on the travails of a Montserratian couple in their early 20s who find themselves with a baby on the way. Derek Wellington (George Silcott Jr.), while a fairly devoted lover, staunchly opposes marriage as an ossified sham institution which serves only to imprison people, a position which his girlfriend, Sandra Fogerty (Jolanda Donadelle), is more than willing to stand by.
Their families, however, have different ideas. Derek's father, James (Seymour Davis), worries about damage to his political career, while Sandra's mother, Ann (Josephine Lindquist), with her "nearer to church/farther from God" antics, is caught up in the intricacies of sin and public embarrassment.
Only Ann's husband, the ever-pragmatic Andrew Fogerty (Michael Kuich), seems able to balance the demands of youth, love and society, but he is constantly drowned out by his family and friends. Carol (Donna Renee Carter), a Peace Corps volunteer and paramour to James, finds herself scandalized by his seemingly insatiable womanizing. And then, there is the hired help at the Wellington place, Molly (Jahima Parsons) and Joe (Kevin Henry), whose pastiche of melee and Tortola love (on/off, hot/cold, hard-to-get, love/hate) serves as a fine counterpoint to the sometimes unlikely comic drama of the stubborn Derek and Sandra.
"For Better For Worse" soars on its cast, drawn from quite a range of age and experience. Kuich exhibits the same bumbling charm that endeared him to Pistarkle Theater audiences earlier this year as Mr. de Peuna in "Rumors." Donadelle has just enough coquette in her sweet young maid to keep the romance interesting. If a towering 'fro and a well-proportioned physique weren't enough, Silcott's righteous indignation and defense of principles in the second act really cement him as a strong force in the narrative.
Davis has my support in this year's race for the Senate — his is the finest caricature of a Caribbean politico to appear on onstage in quite some time. But a caricature not to be outdone by Lindquist's Ann, as anyone who has ever been visited in the night by roving proselytizers can attest.
In many respects, the standout performances come from the supporting cast. Parsons and Henry's exchange of rumor, innuendo and angst in Scene 2 of the first act is the most satisfying moment of the play — crisp and funny dialogue that carries a great deal of emotional truth and doesn't pause for laugh lines. Similarly, Carter shines sequentially as friend, love interest and woman scorned.
"For Better For Worse" is not without a few smudges on its enjoyable surface. Edgecombe's chosen aesthetic is by turns interesting and bizarre, as Ibsen fans will find moments of "Ghosts" juxtaposed with an almost "Delicate Balance"-like living room set in the Albee tradition, shot through in turn with Edgecombe's own Down-Island flavor and the college boy in him thrashing about. The set, in the eyes of many as valuable to the action as top-notch actors, is at times clumsy (particularly in the scene break in the first act) and does not engage the audience or seem quite to fit the characters or the setting.
In sum, "For Better For Worse" makes for a pleasant and diverting addition to this year's fine offerings of stage fare around the island. The Little Theater, unprecedentedly operating through the summer thanks to a gift from Dr. Orville Kean, UVI president, has given the community another much-needed shot in the arm of culture and entertainment.
Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays through Mondays through July 1. Tickets are $15, except that if you buy one ticket you can get a second one free for a student only for this coming weekend's four shows. Outlets are the Reichhold Center box office and bookstore on the UVI campus, both Modern Music stores, Parrot Fish Music, Crystal & Gifts Galore and, on St. John, Connections. Note: The free student tickets are available only at the Reichhold box office. You also can call the box office at 693-1559 to purchase tickets by charge card.

Editor's note: Lane Sell, a Source contributing theater reviewer, will be a senior at Antilles School in the fall.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.