What We're Reading: More Glowing Reviews for Princeton Summer Theater

Princeton, NJ – For the third time in as many productions, the troupe of young, professional and soon-to-be professional actors and directors at Princeton Summer Theater have staged another critical success. Emergency , a one-actor show that runs through Saturday, August 3, culminates the 2024 season at Hamilton Murray Theater on the Princeton campus.

Emergency , writes Donald H. Sanborn III in the Town Topics , is the work of a “skillful creative team,” directed by Layla J. Williams, that has created “a thoughtful, versatile production that fully employs the talent that actor Destine Harrison-Williams brings to it.”

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That’s an important point, since Harrison-Williams is the only actor on stage during the no-intermission production, portraying 23 different – very different – characters weaving through a plot that involves the mysterious appearance of a 1600s slave ship in the waters of New York Harbor, within sight – not coincidentally – of the Statue of Liberty.

Harrison-Williams holds it all together, cutting from character to character sometimes in mid-sentence. “As soon as Harrison-Williams enters, his talent and energy are fully on display. He shifts seamlessly from character to character, using a variety of accents and vocal inflections. He glides exuberantly around the stage, and recites poetry with an impeccable sense of timing.”

Sanborn writes that “seeing one performer portray multiple characters, from a variety of time periods, underlines the extent to which we are constantly shaped by those around us, in our past and present. Their stories inform ours.

“What makes Emergency successful as a piece of theater is that we need to see an actor portray all of these characters — deliver their lines with a variety of mannerisms and accents — to fully appreciate this theme. It is rewarding to watch Harrison-Williams bring [playwright Daniel] Beaty’s moving, multilayered script to life.”

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Neal Zoren’s Take

In a review posted at princetoninfo.com (U.S. 1’s print edition is taking a summer break), Neal Zoren also addresses the effect of one actor portraying this panoply of characters. “Hearing the different perspectives, positions, and sentiments of the two dozen or so people Harrison-Williams portrays, some recurring, some in single takes, is what keeps Emergency interesting,” Zoren writes. “It treads little new ground, but it covers vast ground. It addresses enough subjects, sometimes cloaked in cliche or the expected, sometimes shattering the expected to smithereens, to hold attention and keep you listening.”

Harrison-Williams, a rising junior at Princeton University, “is engaging,” Zoren writes. “He moves deftly from one character to another, establishing gestures or vocal cues that help identify one recurring figure from another and endowing each with a unique personality and traits. His transitions, though fast, are clear.”

As Zoren frequently does in his reviews, he offers the theater company some constructive criticism to make a very good production even better. The actor’s transitions are fast and clear, as Zoren notes, but they are also quiet.

“Harrison-Williams is a mellow performer. He knows his characters and their telling attributes. He can slide into voices and attitudes, but he rarely projects or uses his voice for emphasis or to gain extra attention,” Zoren writes. “The problem is one of volume. Accents, pitches, timbres, and vocal effects ranging from gravelly to falsetto are easily navigated, but always at a level that doesn’t sound as if it’s coming from a theater stage.”

It’s a quibble, perhaps, but it is not a reason to miss this show. It might even be a reason to see it. If Princeton Summer Theater can tune the volume as Zoren suggests, it will end its already acclaimed season on an even higher note.

Emergency, Princeton Summer Theater, Hamilton Murray Theater, Princeton University. Final weekend: Thursday through Saturday, August 1 through 3, at 8 p.m. Also Saturday at 2 p.m. For tickets and further information, visit princetonsummertheater.org/emergency.

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