The crowd was small—and tame—for Friday evening’s second play, The Ballad of Jim Pane. It makes you wonder whether they roll the sidewalks up in Dartmouth at 10 pm.
This show begs for audience participation, but there were only a few brave souls singing along to writer Ross Desprez’s catchy protest songs. There was plenty to enflame anti-war sensibilities, but people managed only a couple of half-hearted whoops and some gentle applause.
Zachary Stevenson plays the fictional Jim Pane, a 60’s folk singer who finds that fame and idealism are often mutually exclusive. He does a terrific job as both the puppyish young Jim and the world-weary, drunken older Jim. He plays a mean guitar and has a soulful voice.
Images are projected on to a screen (which is divided into multiple panes—get it?) behind the singer, adding to the visual interest of the set. The lighting is poor—there’s only one place on the stage that the singer is completely visible and there is a distracting squeak in the plywood riser. But these are small problems in an otherwise good show.
The Ballad of Jim Pane plays on May 5 at 7 pm (for those that turn in early) and May 6 at 9 pm at the Alderney Landing Theatre, 2 Ochterlony St, Dartmouth. 1-888-311-9090
This article appears in May 3-9, 2007.
