‘Curious Savage’ dives into wealth, madness and family at Asolo Conservatory

John Patrick’s “The Curious Savage” was savaged by critics when it opened on Broadway in 1950, even with film legend Lillian Gish as its leading lady. But the play has enjoyed a long life in regional and community theaters ever since.

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory is the latest to turn to this satirical comedy slice of life, with a production that opens Nov. 8. Director Marcus Denard Johnson, the interim director of the graduate acting program, said it’s satirical in a different way than people may think.

“It’s satirical but it’s all about reality and humanity. I think when we have satire in mind, we look at a very stylized method of acting, very physical maybe, something that looks a little bit outside the realm of reality,” he said.

But that’s not the case with this play, which focuses on the recently widowed Mrs. Savage, whose stepchildren confine her to a mental institution because of how she plans to spend millions that she inherited from her late husband. The grown children, one of whom is a judge and another is a U.S. senator, believe the money should go to them.

So, Mrs. Savage finds herself living at The Cloisters, where she meets an unusual assortment of residents who, in their own ways, help her with her plans for the money.

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The production gives audiences the first chance to see the entire second-year class in the three-year program (in the third year they become members of the Asolo Repertory Theatre company) in roles that Johnson said “stretches them in a unique way.”

Johnson, a 2008 graduate of the program who staged the 2023 production of “Stick Fly,” is overseeing the Conservatory while director Andrei Malaev-Babel is on sabbatical this year.

Altering views on mental illness

Johnson said the play could change audience thoughts or perceptions of who the residents of a mental facility might be.

“This play actually exposes the humanity behind what some might consider madness, which is the reason why it's timely,” he said. “While the play is not political, the political landscape has brought some of us to look at people with a lens of madness. I think it's a reminder to look at what drives people’s decision making. What are the challenges or traumas or events of life that have brought these people where they are?”

Calee Gardner stars as Ethel Savage, who is at odds with her stepchildren – Zachary Paul Harris as Samuel (a judge), Alex Hatcher as Titus (a senator) and Yaala Muller as Lily Belle, who has been married and divorced six times.

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“These people have this status,” Johnson said. “We talked in our rehearsals about how wealth can build and how for these two characters (Samuel and Titus), it has elevated them to a level of status, though the play constantly talks about how they’re not deserving. The senator is a joke amongst his peers and the judge’s rulings are always overturned by higher courts.”

When she moves into the Cloisters, Mrs. Savage meets an assortment of characters, including Fairy May (played by Ashley Brooke Raymond), who has trouble telling fantasy from reality; pianist and military veteran Jeffrey (Hoonmin Luke Choi), who believes he was badly injured in war; and Florence, who treats a doll as her 5-year-old son. Florence is played at alternate performances by Amar Kali and Christina Mei Chen.

Will Westray plays the statistician Hannibal who lost his job to an electronic calculator, and Yeuying (Uri) Zhang plays Mrs. Paddy, who rarely speaks, except to shout about things she hates. The cast also includes Angelie Mishon as a nurse and administrative assistant and Billy Lyons as the staff doctor.

Though the play is considered a comedy, Johnson said it also depicts painful moments in the lives of the characters.

"Some of them are in this mental institution due to tragic circumstances," he said. "It’s a heart-warming piece, but as much as you will laugh, I think there is also the ability to cry just as much.”

‘The Curious Savage’

By John Patrick. Directed by Marcus Denard Johnson. Runs Nov. 8-24 (with previews Nov. 5-7) in the Cook Theatre at the FSU Center for the performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $40, ($30 for the Nov. 5 preview). 941-355-8000; asolorep.org