People's Light captures drama of Dickens' 'Tale'

Playwright Dwayne Hartford, who runs a theater in Tempe, Ariz., says he was swept away by Charles Dickens'

A Tale of Two Cities

when he read the novel in high school. He also has obvious respect for the integrity of the 1859 work, which shows clearly in his faithful new stage adaptation.

Not that Hartford's version, in a powerfully staged production from director Ken Marini at People's Light & Theatre in Malvern, is a totally smooth sail through Dickens' tale of love amid the encroaching ruins.

At times, largely in its setup, this Tale can be jarringly disjointed. And it sometimes forces us to surmise plot elements - particularly in one instance during its back-and-forth between 18th-century London, where revolution in the American colonies threatens the throne, and Paris, where revolution in the streets leads to mass executions.

Still, Hartford's adaptation is not just respectful, it's respectable. It gives you the sweep of the story and, as it plays out, grips you more and more, just as Dickens' original does. People's Light presents it in the same season in which a trite musical version already has crashed on Broadway; this attempt, more serious and fulfilling, at least feels as if Dickens is telling it.

Michael Stewart Allen makes a dashing People's Light debut as Charles Darnay, the young Frenchman who falls in love with English-raised Lucie Manette (a wholesome, sincere portrayal by Julianna Zinkel, late of Theatre Exile's Blackbird).

The company shines in Dickens' light: Kevin Bergen as Sydney Carton, the drunken suitor who becomes our unlikely hero; Stephen Novelli as Lucie's father, revived from wrongful Bastille imprisonment; Mary Elizabeth Scallon as the conniving extremist Madame Defarge; and Peter DeLaurier as her husband. Tom Teti, Marcia Saunders, Paul Meshejian and Mark Lazar take on a variety of roles.

The story comes to life on James F. Pyne Jr.'s simple, workable set in a production enhanced greatly by multimedia designer Anton Marini, the director's son. The chaotic streets of post-Revolutionary Paris, where a false tip of the beret could get you killed, come through on two angled panels at the rear of the set, where jerky images move to cries of the mob, ominous chords and the occasional sickening sound of a guillotine's descent.

The panels serve another purpose: Actors play out bits of scenes behind them, in silhouette, emphasizing the stark times and giving the scenes the quality of a French cutout painting popular at the time when the story is set.

But as the epic Tale moves toward its end, the conceit misfires. A key revelation to the characters - one the audience already understands - comes to us in silhouette, diminishing its dramatic effect by robbing the cast of the ability to react.

We've been waiting for this moment; now we get it in black and white instead of color. This hardly suits Dickens, who remains among our language's least monochromatic writers.

Through May 3 at People's Light & Theatre, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern. Tickets: $29-$48. Information: 610-644-3500 or www.peopleslight.org. EndText