UNLV’s ‘Miss Julie’ a treat despite not being a success

There’s a lot to enjoy in Nevada Conservatory Theatre’s "Miss Julie," even though the production falls apart about three-quarters of the way through.

August Strindberg’s late-1800s drama takes a chilling look at the effects of class distinction. Among director Ann-Marie Pereth’s many contributions, her most important may be her ability to make us feel as if the action were unfolding in the present moment.

The brilliant script (with help from a quick-tempo adaptation by Helen Cooper) is about an ambitious count footman (John Maltese) and his boss’ daughter (Cynthia Vodovoz), whose lives get messy when they get involved. The tale still resonates. We occasionally hear, for example, of instances where a low-paid blue-collar worker marries a rich female movie star. The partnerships never seem to work, and both parties tell the press their worlds were too far apart for the unions to have succeeded.

Pereth immediately shows her strengths. The footman’s fiancee and count servant (convincingly, and effortlessly, portrayed by Melissa Ritz) is seen preparing a meal. As she works, she regularly wipes the sweat from her face, and you get a strong sense of reality.

Vodovoz, in the title role, emits energy, rebellion and naivete. The play couldn’t work without such a commanding presence.

And Maltese communicates the footman’s battle in trying to stay in his place. He makes it clear the servant is wise to the ways of the world and is ruthlessly ready to deal.

Jason Myron Wright’s suggestive set offers a good feel for this environment, without being explicitly realistic. And Thomas Egan’s lighting helps convey subtle shifts in dramatic tension.

Pereth, though, frequently overstates. The footman and the boss’ daughter encircle each other so obviously and frequently that you wonder if Pereth realizes how quickly she’s made her point. The footman’s character is played so one-note vicious that by the second half, he’s a bore. Julie, in her later scenes, becomes so monotonous that she’s reduced to a hopeless whiner.

No, I wouldn’t call this a success. But it’s a treat to be in the presence of such talent. This is one of the few local productions I’ve seen that give a hint of Strindberg’s greatness.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheaterchat @aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.