The beautifully tragic and eminently powerful tale of caver Floyd Collins, was staged by Colorado Mesa University’ (CMU) Theatre Arts Department and opened on March 10 in the Mesa Experimental Theatre (MET).
“The Ballad of Floyd Collins” details one of the first large scale media attractions in the 1920’s, when the title character, Floyd Collins (played by senior Brendan Lowry), becomes trapped while searching for a cave large enough to serve as a public attraction.
The two act show goes through the rescue attempts by Collins’ family, as well as the efforts of Homer Collins (junior Donovan Kriskowski) and Skeets Miller (sophomore Harvey Harkins) to communicate with Floyd while he is trapped.
Lowry makes for an interesting Floyd Collins, as when he is not playing being trapped, he moves in very soft but angular ways. His feet carry him across the stage, as well as up and around the cave set so smoothly that it would seem he were dancing or floating, rather than the large steps and leaps that he takes. However, the turns and twists that he takes while moving around the face of the set contrast sharply with his smooth movement, creating a dynamic and unique structure to Lowry’s character.
As a potential narrator, in much the same way that Nick Carroway is for “The Great Gatsby,” audiences are given a narrator for Floyd Collins through Harkins’ Skeets Miller, a reporter who is the only person who can actually get into the tunnel with Floyd.
Harkins brought such a pure and simple Skeets to life. While he may not be a caver, audiences can’t help but enjoy watching, because of how dedicated he is to helping tell Floyd’s story to the world, as well as how far he is willing to go to ensure that Collins is safely rescued.
Being a musical, “Floyd Collins” opts for a bluegrass sound, which both fits the Kentucky setting, as well as the ballad aspect of the production. The results were a sad, sweet compilation of songs that at times were eerily beautiful and contagiously hopeful. The cast as a whole was incredible, pouring so much love and power into the music.
Senior Margaret Brophy, who plays Nellie Collins, stood out with her rendition of “Through the Mountain.” Her voice carried through the theatre and rang cleanly throughout every musical number she participated in. However, there were moments where the musical accompaniment came in too strong and made it difficult to hear parts of songs throughout the show, which was unfortunate because of the size of the MET.
Similar to the disappointment of not being able to clearly hear every moment of the casts’ musical performances, several of the softer, quieter scenes with Collins in the cave were difficult to see at times, because of how dim the lights could get. It was especially noticeable early in the show. Prior to the arrival of the rest of the cast, Lowry’s face was often in complete shadow, even when he wasn’t moving around and was trapped in place as Floyd.
That being said, the set was constructed in a way that seemed to contradict the softness and ballad nature of the show, which helped create a sense of danger in the cave.
Its angular structure created a potential playground for the cast, and they certainly utilized it, with cast members delivering lines from almost every single space available to them on the set, as well as a drop down rope swing for Lowry and Kriskowski during “The Riddle Song.”
“The Ballad of Floyd Collins” was a bright and beautiful show about the dangers of nature, and it serves as a reminder to audiences that nature, or a cave in this particular instance, does not care who you are. If you are not careful, nature will win.
The CMU Theatre Department has five showings left of “Floyd Collins,” starting Wed. March 15 through Fri. March 17 at 7:30 in the MET, as well as a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Sat. March 18, and their closing show on March 18 at 7:30 p.m.
