'Savannah Disputation' fits in well at Writers' Theatre

Two years ago the intrepid folks at Writers' Theatre in Glencoe produced a short, witty play, "The Uneasy Chair," by a young writer based in Savannah, Georgia -- Evan Smith. The play was not a world premiere, but it might as well have been, since Smith currently belongs to that tribe of writers who are talented, developing, but are still more or less unknown.

Now the Writers' Theatre is producing another play by Smith, "The Savannah Disputation," currently in previews and opening Wednesday at the Writers' Theatre. The play concerns a pair of elderly sisters and what happens when a young evangelist comes to visit.

"I've been in conversation with (Smith) since 'The Uneasy Chair,'" Writers' Theatre artistic director Michael Halberstam said, "and he sent me 'The Savannah Disputation' with the thought that it might be good for Writers' Theatre specifically. He was right. I started reading and could not put it down... it made me laugh out loud."

Educated at Vassar and at the internationally recognized Yale Drama School, Smith is known in theater circles for his sly, literate writing style.

"The Uneasy Chair," for example, is packed with references to 19th Century British Literature.

But Smith is also, according to Halberstam, capable of playing the lower notes in a drama.

"(The Savannah Disputation) also touched me," Halberstam said. "One of the great strengths of the play is that it (focuses on) the journey of the characters. Essentially it's a play about four lonely outrageous people who come into conflict with each other."

Smith has a slightly different take on his play.

"My first impulse for the play came when I was a watching actors at a benefit," he said. "I thought I should write a part for her and a part for her. At the same time I was thinking about faith and community."

Raised an Irish-Catholic in Savannah, the site of one of the largest St. Patrick's Day celebrations in the South, Smith had grown up meditating on the intimate connections between faith and community.

"Suddenly," he said, "I had the idea for this play. I envisioned a debate between a believer and a non-believer, or rather a debate between two believers."

Smith wrote the play in 2002 and then, unable to find a place to produce it, he put it in a drawer, waiting for the right theater and the right director to come along. Enter Michael Halberstam and the Writers' Theatre.

"Smith's most appealing skill as a writer is his gift for wit," Halberstam said. "It is a rare gift and is infrequently found in modern writers."

Halberstam knows of what he speaks. Since Writers' Theatre's beginnings, performing in the cozy back room of a bookstore in Glencoe's business district, Halberstam has specialized in performing witty, literate theater. Smith fits well in the company of, among others, Coward, Shaw and Shakespeare.

"Smith has a sparkling turn of phrase," Halberstam said. "He truly understands how to produce a funny line which erupts quite naturally from the circumstances of his play. This attention to detail and style makes him an ideal playwright for a theater which celebrates the word and the artist."