After a two-year hiatus, the Harvard College Freshman Theater Program is back with a new production of Emlyn Williams' The Corn is Green, a tale of a Welsh coal-mining town in the late 1800s. Although the story takes place in the nineteenth century, some of its main themes, such as class struggle, the plight of rural education and the role of women in a male-dominated world, are still quite relevant. At the center of the play is a young Welsh coal miner, Morgan Evans (Mwashuma Kamata Nyatta), who is taken under the wing of the local teacher, Miss Moffat (played by Dossy Peabody '74), in hopes of obtaining a scholarship to Oxford. In many ways, The Corn in Green can be looked at as a predecessor of the recent blockbuster Good Will Hunting. Yet, The Corn is Green, with its bittersweet ending and multi-faceted characters, is far more realistic and enjoyable than the fantastical Matt Damon film.
The Corn is Green owes most of its success to its altogether excellent cast. Ms. Peabody, a Harvard alumnae and star of stage and screen from the Boston area, has appeared in films such as The Crucible, Amistad, The Proposition and Mermaids and in theater productions including The Widow's Blind Date, Park Your Car in Harvard Yard, and The Primary English Class. Peabody was able to portray Miss Moffat's struggles and hopes with incredible passion and strength, yet managed not to overshadow the freshman cast or dominate the play completely. Her depiction of Miss Moffat was perfect--like most of the characters in The Corn is Green Moffat is a complicated and emotional person and not without a humorous side, despite her stalwartness.
Morgan Evans, the protagonist of the play, was acted with great skill by first-year Mwashuma Kamata Nyatta, a native of Nairobi, Kenya. Evans--an out-of-place scholar in the mining town--loves to learn, yet is not entirely able to tear himself away from other hobbies such as drinking and hanging out with his buddies. Nyatta intelligently portrayed this inward struggle with grace and thoughtfulness and was able to show us the many sides of his complex character, some of which were not entirely positive, such as his predilection for pub life. Overall, Nyatta utterly fulfilled the depth and dimension--an well as the quiet profundity and maturity--of Morgan Evans.
Two characters which added some much needed comic relief to the often heavy story line were Mrs. Watty (played by Elizabeth Newhall) and her daughter, Bessie (played by Jamie Smith). Newhall nearly stole the show in every scene in which she appeared--she was funny and feisty and always on target, as the tough, punchy Mrs. Watty, whose verve never failed to charm the audience.
Bessie Watty started out as an equally humorous character, constantly whining and eating sweets, but she became more serious as the show progressed. Smith did an outstanding job of portraying her character's development from a silly, flirtatious young girl to a vengeful, immoral harlot, a woman who was not weak, as the audience originally was led to believe, but rather, one of the most powerful characters in the play. After a suspenseful build-up, the clash between Bessie and Miss Moffat finally explodes at the end of The Corn is Green, making the somewhat surprise ending distressing, yet hopeful.
Another very important character who changes throughout the course of the play is Miss Ronberry, played with much elegance by Catherine Gowl. Miss Ronberry is able to accept her status as a spinster by the end of the show, although in the beginning she desperately seeks a husband, flirting with the rich and handsome Squire (Alexis George Burgess, in another humorous role). By the end of the play Ronberry has become a devoted and caring teacher, one who has learned to think of someone besides herself and whose true pleasure in life is educating those who are less fortunate, ensuring that they will have a better life because of education. The fine cast is rounded off by Paul A. Gusmorino, III, as John Goronwy Jones, a man who lives between classes and is not entirely sure of his place in society: he is Welsh, yet highly educated, sympathizing with the Welsh coalmining students in Miss Moffat's school, as he can understand their plight and their language.
Other characters include a charming group of Welsh peasant men and women who act as something of a chorus in the show, as well as Nicholas Meunier in the role of Idwal Morris, a Welsh coal-miner who always steals the hearts of the audience with his mischievous antics. Both the peasants and Meunier add a touch of well-needed lightness and amusement to the play.
Yet, this is not to say that The Corn is Green is flawless. The play occasionally drags on, becoming boring and repetitive, particularly in the last scene of the first act and the last scene of the play. As it stands, The Corn is Green does run long--a little over two and a half hours, and some scenes could have been pared down a little bit to hold the audience's attention better. However, the superb cast and set, as well as costumes, override this minor fault.
The Corn is Green is a play which Harvard students should see, since many parallels between Evans' burning desire to be admitted to Oxford and our own desires, perhaps long-forgotten, to attend Harvard, can be drawn. The play also makes a pertinent social comment on education and whom it is for--the rich and privileged, undoubtedly, while brilliant and poor students such as Evans must make do with their insecurities and emotional battles. With its supreme cast and relevant social questions, The Corn is Green is truly a production to be seen by all.
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