As anyone can see from our website, the Wildcatters Network has invested in the award-winning production of The Crusade of Connor Stephens. Seven Platinum Investors of the Wildcatters Network attended the Off-Broadway premiere of the play at the intimate Jerry Orbach Theater, located on the corner of 50th and Broadway in Manhattan.
Albeit a completely biased opinion, we absolutely loved the production!!! It is difficult to put into words the intensity and the raw emotions on display on opening night. If you are looking for a feel-good musical with singing, dancing, and special effects, this might not fit the bill. However, if you want to see superb acting that will challenge you to view controversial topics from multiple perspectives, then the Network highly recommends attending this play.
All eight cast members played their role with equal aplomb, however when Big Jim (James Kiberd) was on the stage, he commanded the attention of everyone in the theater. His larger-than-life Texas persona and booming voice demanded your attention. It is difficult to imagine any other actor playing this part with the skill and emotion of Kiberd.
Veteran actress Kathleen Huber played the role of Grandma Vivi’n to perfection. Huber had the challenge of providing some well-timed comedic relief then transitioning to some very painful trips down memory lane, which were instrumental in giving some much needed perspective as to the motivations of Big Jim.
Katherine Leask, who played the role of Big Jim’s wife and the estranged mother to Jim Jr., had to make the biggest leap across the emotional chasms of this play. This dutiful and placating wife reached her boiling point and we saw the intensity and rage of a mother dealing with her own very real form of “loss”. Leask’s transformation was riveting.
Although the play is focused on the struggles of a family dealing with a divisive tragedy, the play is actually about the redemptive qualities of love, acceptance, and forgiveness. The range of emotions were so powerful that audience members truly felt exhausted at the end of the performance.
Wildcatters Network is proud to be a co-producer of this powerful and socially relevant play.
