‘Violet’: A woman’s journey to find herself

ON THE ROAD TO A DREAM: Sutton Foster & Annie Golden in ‘Violet.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

VIOLET
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book & lyrics by Brian Crawley
Based on The Ugliest Pilgrim by Doris Betts
Directed by Leigh Silverman
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.roundabouttheatre.org

By David Nounou

Violet poses the question of which cross is harder to bear; the visible scar on a face that people wince at every time they look at you, or the scar that burrows in the heart since childhood that acts as a defensive shield against the outside world? In reality, they are intertwined and are demons that a person with a deformity has to deal with on a daily basis. Twelve years earlier the blade of the ax that her father was chopping wood with slips loose and slashes across her face leaving a permanent scar. However, we, the audience don’t see it, we have to imagine it. Throughout her long bus trip from North Carolina to Oklahoma, Violet is accompanied by her inner thoughts of her younger self and her father. She is on her way to Oklahoma to see a faith healer who can help her erase her scare and hopes he gives her the hair of Elke Sommer, the eyes of Gene Tierney, the eyebrows of Ava Gardner, the skin of Rita Hayworth, and the cheekbones of Ingrid Bergman. Damn, I hope I got it right.

Of course on the ride, Violet (Sutton Foster) comes to meet three people, and naturally they all wince upon first seeing her, but as they get to know her better, they see her inner beauty and her frailties. First is a talkative older lady getting off in Memphis (Annie Golden) who tries to shield her from other folks, mainly two soldiers Violet encounters on her journey. They are stationed in Fort Smith, Tennessee. The soldiers are Flick (Joshua Henry),  the black man who appreciates her for her strength and determination; and Monty (Colin Donnell),  the white soldier who appreciates her for the hurt in her eyes. Flick has the timidity that was inflicted on him because of his color since he was a young boy, but Monty is the brassy, good-looking all-American boy who gets everything with a wink and a smile.

As in any road trip, there are stops along the way. In Memphis, it’s a night out with the boys; and finally, in Oklahoma it is off to see the TV evangelist of the day, replete with all the gospel traditions of all-singing, all-dancing revival meeting, and it’s a long one. It’s all a kind of female Elephant Man meets Leap of Faith and Kathie Lee Gifford’s Scandalous with redemption in the end that it’s better to have the beauty and confidence on the inside than what glitters on the outside.

This is a new role for Sutton Foster, not the one we usually see as the bubbly all-singing, all- dancing as in Anything Goes or The Drowsy Chaperone. It is a serious role and she delivers it earnestly and still manages to give her sunny smile in the end. Joshua Henry is in great voice and has the show-stopping number “Let It Sing,” and Colin Donnell, who was in Anything Goes with Ms. Foster, is handsome as ever. If you would enjoy a bus ride through the South in 1964, then you would enjoy Violet.

ONE NIGHT OF PASSION: Sutton Foster & Collin Donnell in ‘Violet.’ Photo: Joan Marcus

Violet was nominated for four Tonys, including: Best Musical Revival, Best Musical Actress – Sutton Foster, Best Musical Supporting Actor – Joshua Henry and Best Director – Leigh Silverman.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 26, 2014
Reviewed at press performance April 25, 2014