Tuesdays with Morrie: more than chicken soup
In a world primed for cynicism it would be easy to dismiss a story like *Tuesdays with Morrie* as a schmaltzy softball for bleeding hearts in the same vein as the sometimes over-the-top “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series of books. However such a dismissal would be missing the true merits of the work and an opportunity to be truly moved.
The true story of Mitch Albom (Rick Roberts), a sports reporter who reconnects with Morrie Schwartz (Hal Linden), his former friend, mentor, and sociology professor was first recounted in a book penned by Albom, then adapted as a TV Movie, and finally as a stage production, now playing in Toronto produced by the "Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company":http://www.hgjewishtheatre.com/ at the Winter Garden Theatre.
The meat of *Tuesdays with Morrie* is not in the reunion of two old friends but in the context of that reunion; Albom re-enters Schwartz’s life shortly after the ageing professor is diagnosed with ALS (more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), adding a twinge of moribund inevitability to the proceedings. Albom makes the trip from his home in Detroit to Schwartz’s outside of Boston every Tuesday, and although their meetings and conversations are coloured by the theme of death, Morrie’s kindness, wisdom, and humanism steers the work as a whole in the direction of being a celebration of life.
As a theatrical work, it is remarkable how simple and elegant the whole piece is. With only two characters and virtually nothing in the way of twists or turns, a lesser story would struggle to keep the audience’s attention, but Tuesdays is a rich experience held up by the warm and intimate, but tastefully unsaccharine nature of its content.
The creative team deserves a great deal of credit for finding the right balance between earnestness and sentimentality to be able to move the audience without nauseating them. Rick Roberts invites the audience into the story as the likeable young college student version of Albom, and although his performance hits a flat spot after making the transition to his character’s middle-aged incarnation, he regains his footing - along with his character’s humility - and finishes strong. Hal Linden, of TV’s “Barney Miller” fame, steals the show delivering a spot on performance as the nonchalant but opinionated professor, and nailing the gentle humour and endearing quality of the role.
Director Ted Dykstra greatest choice is to keep things simple. Blocking is kept to a minimum leaving the two performers to build a sense of intimacy without interrupting the fragile magic of the stage with unnecessary parading.
All the elements of the production culminate in a voyage that is not one of literal goals and conflict but rather one of understanding and emotional growth. There are times when theatre suffers from the limitations of the stage, when no amount of well crafted make-believe can draw an audience in. *Tuesdays with Morrie* is the diametric opposite; the immediacy of seeing two old friends saying their goodbyes in the flesh makes for an incomparable and emotional experience that is well worth the price of admission.
_Tuesdays with Morrie By Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom; Directed by Ted Dykstra; Featuring Hal Linden and Rick Roberts; Produced by the Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company, it continues until May 31 at the Winter Garden Theatre. For more information travel_ "here":http://www.hgjewishtheatre.com/index.html