Getting Educated with Frank and Rita
Nat Jones and Teralyn Tanner
NOTWITHSTANDING THE PLAY’S TITLE, “Educating Rita” presents its two characters and their journey together in far more than literal terms.
When the eager, young Rita first meets Frank—her elder, disillusioned tutor—she asks excitedly, “What’s it like to be free?” After all, he’s the one—the tenured professor—who knows “everything” and can lead her to the promise land of intellectual transformation. Yet, soon after they get acquainted, she adroitly exclaims, “I’ve ended up with a beginner!”
So who’s educating whom here?
Such dichotomy gives director Jo Ellen Aspinwall plenty of room to explore the nature of these seemingly ordinary (and, yes, extreme) people who, through the course of the play, are rendered increasingly complex, introspective, and vulnerable—like all of us. Relating to them is made easy, too, by the delightful chemistry between refreshing newcomer Teralyn Tanner (Rita) and local stage veteran Nat Jones (Frank), who is making his debut with Midtown/Sheri Grace.
Teralyn Tanner as Rita
In a wondrous array of quirky, colorful costumes (by Kristen Bushey), Teralyn gives buoyant reality to the worldly-wise Rita whose candor and perspicacity far outweigh her naivete and lack of formal education. As Rita undergoes the transition from working-class cockney to “student” of scholarly depth, Taralyn imbues her with impetuous charm, humor, and sensitivity—the qualities that make her so attractive to Frank in the first place.
When Rita initially implores Frank to transform her into more than she thinks she already is, he replies: “To do that, you’ll have to suppress, perhaps even abandon, your uniqueness.” To some extent, she does just that and then sees his disappointment: “You cannot bear that I’m educated now!” she wryly concludes.
That’s not the only wit and wisdom that Teralyn’s character gets to say on behalf of the playwright, Willy Russell, whose parents were highly literate and who himself once worked, like his semi-autobiographical character Rita, as a ladies’ hairdresser. Hence some funny remarks about customers in the hair salon, along with several pithy knocks against formal schooling (“You can never admit that school is anything other than useless and irrelevant”) and the life that follows it (“There’s no contentment because there’s no meaning, nothing to live for. It’s like there’s some disease and no one mentions it”). It’s fascinating to see the effect that statements like these have coming from a stage character. They emanate from a pretend drama, yet resound in the ears and settle in the minds of real-world listeners better than if a philosopher had issued them.
Nat Jones as Frank
Speaking of philosophers, the irascible, erudite, alcoholic Frank—which pretty much sums up the conflicting sides of his character—is presented with panache by Nat Jones whose combination of curmudgeonliness and splendid verbal pace are always a pleasure to listen to, perhaps especially when they suit a role so well as this one.
It’s nice to walk into a theatre in anticipation of seeing a play, but it’s especially wonderful when the characters become so alive that, not only do you (and your troubles) disappear while watching them, but the actors themselves seem to vanish. By the end of this play, I could have sworn that was ’ol Frank the professor, books and bottle in hand, doting about his messy office. Nat Jones was nowhere to be seen.
Kudos to this compelling cast of two and their gifted director for superb handling of an award-winning comedy that is as insightful as it is funny.
(Admittedly, this was my first time in Sheri Grace Wenger’s little black-box theatre off Folly Road, but it won’t be the last. There’s seating for only about 45 people, but the intimacy can’t be matched anywhere in town. It’s another gem in Charleston’s remarkable setting of high-caliber theatre.)
“Educating Rita” runs through October 2 at the Charleston Acting Studio.
Learn more at www.Midtown/Sheri Grace.
