Review: IS HE DEAD At Arkansas State University Beebe

After years of being delayed due to The Great Covid of 2020, Director Ryan Gibbons of Arkansas State University -- Beebe, 1000 W Iowa St., in Beebe, finally was able to present Mark Twain's IS HE DEAD this past weekend Thursday, April 20, through Saturday, April 22. With a student centric theatrical education in mind, ASU Beebe's directors Gibbons, Hope Hargrove, and Jason McCoy allowed the students to create their own set, costumes, makeup, lighting scheme designs, and everything else to help them get "a well-rounded education of all sorts" according to Hargrove.

Before the troupe performed IS HE DEAD, Mark Twain (Director Gibbons) came out to introduce an unfinished work called the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF EVE, which is, according to the program, "one of Twain's rare uses of a woman narrator." Twain informs the audience that he "read the Bible through by the time I was 15 years old, and I grew up attending a private Christian school." He continues talking about his education and a humorous anecdote about the power of prayer. Stating that he finds humor in the Bible that "often go unnoticed," he started a retelling of Adam and Eve through Eve's perspective. "I'm not sure what it has to do with my play IS HE DEAD, but tonight's producers seem fit to mash them together."

This is the charm of going to a university that values education over familiarity. We were blessed with a work that was unfamiliar to some of my theatre-degreed friends and I. Adam (Caleb Davis) is annoyed by the new creature Eve (Annabelle Ferren). She talks a lot and leaks from her eyes. She follows him around and eats too much fruit. Eve actually does most of the talking. She comments about everything. She notices that Adam doesn't do much and calls him a reptile for most of the act. By the end of the excerpt, they do eat the forbidden fruit and grow more attached to each other.

Ferren was a perfect Eve. She was waif-like, fragile, and embraced her curious nature. Davis was funny as her counterpart who didn't really know what to think of the creature. In such a quick time, he transformed from being bothered by her to developing feelings. They played well off of each other and were enjoyable to watch.

IS HE DEAD is based on a short story (the real) Mark Twain wrote in 1893, and then turned it into a play in 1898. However, there was little interest in the work until Shelley Fisher Fishkin published the manuscript in 2003. David Ives adapted IS HE DEAD to the stage, and it had a three-month run on Broadway.

Set in 1846, Jean-Francois Millet (Carter Kirby/Taylor Daniel) and his colleagues are in debt and need to sell enough paintings to pay off Bastien Andre (Mark Ledbetter) before he forecloses. Destitute, Millet and his pupils decide to end their lives but are saved when Chicago (Payton Fry/Edward Holtz) and the others find them. They decide that not everyone has to die, just Millet....or at least have everyone think that he is dead to raise the value of his paintings. As this farce grows, Millet dresses up as a woman, everyone is able to pay off their debts, and in the end, Millet reveals the truth, and they all live happily ever after.

The ensemble work was great. When all of the painters were out on stage, it was fun watching the different interactions between them. No matter which set you watched, they were doing something absurd. It was really funny. Another group that cracked us up were the mourners Madame Audrienne (Jessie Freeman), Madame Bathilde (Makayla Collum) and Madame Caron (Savannah Newberry), who were always crying about something. Their chemistry and physicality were great. Just watching them parade across the stage had us all tearing up. I enjoyed Dutchy's (Ben Byrd) over dramatization and commitment to his accent. Phelim O'Shaughnessy (Zac Wonder) also committed to his character's traits as well.

Broadway World realizes that it takes a small army to produce a play. Technical Crew consisted of: Director-Ryan Gibbons; Assistant Director-Hope Hargrove; Tech Supervisor-Jason McCoy; Stage Manager-Laura Davis; Lighting Design-Caleb Davis & Gabs O'Connell; Spotlight Operator-Austin Anderson; Sound Technician-Vannah Brown; Assistant Stage Managers-Faith Sales & Akira Hyer; Set Design-Jason McCoy, Austin Anderson & Angel Able; Set Construction-Austin Anderson & Zac Wonder; Props-Bailey DeVore & Dominic Abraham; Costumes-Faith Sales, Alex Sales, Angel Able, Jaye Bottoms, Emma Bertram, Ashley Clark, and Gabs O'Connell; and Makeup-Gabs O'Connell, Gracie Clark, and Faith Sales.

The Cast for IS HE DEAD was: Chimney Sweeps-Dominick Jones & Makayla Collum; Chicago-Payton Fry/Edward Holtz (Double Cast); Jean Francois Millet-Carter Kirby/Taylor Daniel (Double Cast); Dutchy-Ben Byrd; Papa Leroux-Cade Smith; Sandy Ferguson-Jaye Bottoms; Charles Everest-Polly Quinn Bowles; Phelim O'Shaughnessy-Zac Wonder; Basil Thorpe-Caleb Hart; Jared Walker-Brier Edwards; Henrietta Parker-Jessie Freeman; Mother Leroux-Brandi Robbins; Marie (Millet's Sweetheart)-Annabelle Ferren; Cecile (Chicago's Sweetheart)-Estella Cordero; Madame Audrienne-Jessie Freeman; Madame Bathilde-Makala Collum; Madame Caron-Savannah Newberry; Bastien Andre-Mark Ledbetter; Understudy-Jordan Schiesz; Pupils-Emma Bertram, Eryn Wyles, Turner Ward, Gracie Clark, Skyler Olsen, and Miranda Loftis; Gorgeous Flunkey-Dezirae Loftis; Reporters-Makala Collum and Caleb Hart; and Good-Akira Hyer.

Broadway World would like to give a big THANK YOU to Estella Cordero for the use of these wonderful pictures.

ASU Beebe has a thriving theatre department that has grown exponentially under the guidance of Director Ryan Gibbons. To find out more about their program, visit their website at https://www.asub.edu/degrees-and-certificates/theatre/afa.