Derek Lee Miller

These Old Shoes is about aging, remembering and letting go. The core story is about Jim, a widower, as he prepares to move out of the house in which he raised a family to a retirement residence. His granddaughter Beatrice arrives to help Jim with the move. Jim seeks out an old photograph that triggers strong memories, which he shares with Beatrice. Interspersed with Jim's story, the retirement residence residents play out the events that make up their days—a card game, mail delivery, meal time, a funeral visitation. These vignettes are depicted with wry humor, but carry the ring of truth. On occasion an ensemble member morphs in flashback to his or her earlier life, so that each develops a then/now persona. In the end, the residents welcome Jim as their new neighbor, and Jim discovers that, though he has moved on, his life is not yet fully lived.

Transatlantic Love Story collaboratively develops original work employing physical theater, a form in which actors not only portray characters, but also form scenic elements and produce environmental sounds. Thus, an actor's erect body with one dropped arm swaying back and forth is an heirloom grandfather clock, the actor producing "tick-tocks." The stiff backs of the ensemble become tombstones in a cemetery. There are no props; objects are indicated by the actions of the performers. The effect simplifies the play, drawing focus to the story and relationships. It also allows a great fluidity in moving from place to place, time to time, without pause for scene changes or distractions from flats gliding in from the wings or drops lowered from the fly tower.

In These Old Shoes, the ensemble members not only become scenic elements, but transform before our eyes from their current state to that of an aged person. By acquiring a stoop, a sloping gait, pinched eyes, pursed mouth, or leaning on an imagined walker, each is a unique and believable creation. The shifts back and forth between youth and age convey the wholeness of a life—that each of us, day by day, moves toward being an elder and that each elder contains within them the narrative of their youth. If this message has not been conveyed before, in this telling it arrives with great poignancy and heart, with undeniable universality.

Each member of the Transatlantic Love Affair ensemble contributes eloquently to the creation of their characters and the telling of this story. Derek Lee Miller, as Jim, does a wonderful job of transitioning from a young man, romantic and optimistic, to a resigned and regretful senior citizen, with a middle passage as a terrified GI in Korea. Adelin Phelps also impresses as the empathetic granddaughter Beatrice, finding her own path through adulthood, and as Charlotte, who sashays about the retirement residence singing snippets of show tunes in brassy voice, a cigarette in her pursed lips, and recalling her younger days as an entertainer.

Dustin Tessier has composed atmospheric music which he performs on guitar from the side of the stage, providing emphasis and echo to different parts of the story. Michael Wangen's lighting effectively conveys the shift from inner thoughts to group interaction.

At its end, These Old Shoes left me feeling warm and appreciative, both for the imagination and skill on stage, and for the message that life is a continuous journey, so that even as we age, new destinations await. It is a lovely show, beautiful in the art with which its story is told, and affirming in its belief in moving forward with one's life.

These Old Shoes continues through February 14, 2015, at the Illusion Theater, 528 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN. Tickets are $17.00 - $30.00. For tickets call 612- 339-4944 or go to illusiontheater.org.

Conceived and Directed by: Diego Lopes; Script Consultant: Gemma Irish; Music Composed and Performed: Dustin Tessier; Lighting Designer: Mike Wangen; Costume Designer: Anna Reichert; Stage manager: William Harmon; Production manager: Per Greibrok.

Cast: Heather Bunch (Genola, Ensemble), Peyton McCandless (Marjorie, Ensemble), Derek Lee Miller (Jim, Ensemble), Eric Nelson (Cliff, Ensemble), Isabel Nelson (Winifred, Annette, Ensemble), Adelin Phelps (Beatrice, Charlotte, Ensemble), Allison Witham (Millie, Ensemble).

- Arthur Dorman

Also see the season schedule for the Minneapolis - St. Paul region