Review: “The Heidi Chronicles” hits the mark

Heidi Holland, played by Heather Capps, delivers a monologue.

Hilaree Foreman, Sports Writer

This week, the Tarleton State University Department of Fine Arts and Theatre at Tarleton presents “The Heidi Chronicles” by Wendy Wasserstein. A Pulitzer Prize winning show, “The Heidi Chronicles” originally debuted in 1988. The show chronicles the life of Heidi Holland, a successful art historian, and the changing role of women from the 1960’s to the 1980’s. The play contains some adult situations and language and is intended for mature audiences.

In the opening scene of “The Heidi Chronicles”, we are introduced to lead actress Heather Capps, who stars as the play’s titular character, Heidi Holland, teaching in a schoolroom. We then fast forward to 1958 1965, where Heidi is shown as a strong willed woman of the late 19501960’s. Capps successfully brings the feminist character through the changing social agendas of the passing decades.

Roland Garcia stars as Peter Patrone, Heidi’s best friend, who is later discovered to be gay. Garcia does a phenomenal job portraying Patrone as a gay man who is confident in himself, but doesn’t come off so flamboyant that he becomes a stereotype.

Cody Daniell stars as Heidi’s brief love interest, Scoop Rosenbaum. While I understood that Rosenbaum is an arrogant character, Daniell was unable to pull the character through in some scenes, as he seemed uncomfortable in a few interactions with other characters.

There is a fair amount of adult language in the show. While in some instances the profanity is needed, in some scenes, it seems to be crutch for the characters, or a tool to prove to the audience that this is in fact a mature play.

Over all, “The Heidi Chronicles” is a must see, shining as a mature play that can relate from its initial release in 1988 up to its Tarleton debut in 2014.

“The Heidi Chronicles” will run from Tuesday, April 8 until Saturday, April 12. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens, students, faculty and staff, and $5 for Tarleton students (with I.D.)