Theater Review: Trying

                                                                     TRYING

A theatrical question: What do you get when you pair an irascible old judge on his last legs with a new, young secretary, meeting for the purpose of winding up his affairs before he dies?

That depends on the quality of the script and of the actors and production.

North Coast Repertory Theatre offers a smashing filmed production of Joanna Glass’ play “Trying,” highlighted by two brilliant performances by James Sutorius and Emily Goss as the principals. The show runs on demand through April 18.

The playwright was the secretary in question, serving Judge Biddle from 1967 to his death the following year. 

                                                         Emily Goss and James Sutorius

Judge Francis Biddle, 82, and 25-year-old recent college graduate Sarah Schorr face off in a riveting pas de deux between Biddle (best known as the principal judge for the Nuremberg trials in 1946) and the businesslike Canadian-born secretary who will not take any guff from this old geezer, no matter how important he is.

He is delighted to find that she “reads voraciously,” though he can’t resist a grammatical barb (“I prefer that you eat voraciously but read voluminously”), indicating that it will be a prickly relationship. But they find some joy in quoting poetry to each other.

As for work, Sarah believes in thoroughness, saying that friends in Saskatoon described her as “a bugger for work.”

He sets the schedule: from 9 a.m. to noon, noting that “I’m fairly certain this is my final year.” Then he fiddles with the gas heaters, warning her NEVER to touch them.

He barks at her until he realizes that she is as well-read as he and perfectly capable of giving as good as she gets, with this riposte (from E.E. Cummings): “There is some shit I will not eat.”

It’s a wonderfully amusing, touching, affecting play, with excellent direction by David Ellenstein and a fine set by Marty Burnett. It’s been well filmed by Aaron Rumley. Elisa Benzoni adds time-appropriate costumes. 

I would love to have seen “Trying” live, in the theater, but I’m delighted that this fine filmed version is streaming through April 18 on Showtix4U.com. Tickets can be purchased at northcoastrep.org.