The Really Useful Company's "Whistle Down the Wind" gives a really rural Louisiana View
by Sharon Kennedy, ShireNet Reviewer

The Really Useful Company in presenting "Whistle Down the Wind" gives a really different view of Louisiana. For the plot, The Really Useful Company draws from Mary Hayley Bell's book and the film produced by Richard Attenborough.

While one might first think of Louisiana's religious character as Catholicism, since the French were the first Louisiana colonizers, in the early 18th century. However, Protestantism, especially the Baptist and Methodist faiths, predominates in the rural north. So, the characters and scenes in "Whistle Down the Wind" show a rural northern Protestant, community.

Special effects give a vivid picture of a countryside with petroleum and natural gas wells surrounded by Louisiana's agricultural crops. The "Whistle Down the Wind" scenes are made all the more vivid by showing this rural impoverished northern religious congregation engaging in a baptism, by immersion for a congregation member with sufficient maturity to make a religious decision. Other vivid scenes show how this religious community depends upon camp or tent revivals including the zeal of members to hold rattlesnakes.

The Really Useful Company was extravagant with special effects to show the Louisiana countryside with a specialized filmstrip projector and film to project the landscape scenes on scrims, lightly woven dropcloths. However, the company scrimped on expenses to animate the rattlesnakes and kittens in this show. This may disappoint some viewers who expect more lifelike and realistic special effects. Another deviation from reality of the 1950s in this plot, is mingling of black and white residents, when blacks would have been segregated.

With this landscape in mind, the youth—Swallow (Irene Molloy), Brat (Abbi Hutcherson), and Poor Baby (Cameron Bowen)—show how impressionable they are by their milieu. Raised in poverty, without a mother and by a drunken father (Timothy Nolen, as Boone), absorbed in the evangelistic preaching and prayer meeting emotionalism, the youth easily believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ. Picture an escaped prisoner (Davis Gaines, as The Man) with self-inflicted wounds seeking refuge and passing-out in the barn just before Christmas. As The Man regains consciousness, the youth surrounding The Man in the barn, ask him his name. The Man thinking Oh hell, responds "Jesus Christ!!!"

Now you have the picture, the youth believe The Man to be the real Jesus Christ and do whatever they can to care for and protect The Man. Gaines, as the escaped prisoner has mixed emotions about dissuading the youth that he isn't Jesus Christ.

Throughout, the show, Molloy, Hutcherson, Bowen, and The Children give a strong and endearing performance. Many of the adult company members—Davis Gaines, Kathryn Blake, Dave Clemmons, Allen Fitzpatrick, Timothy Shew, Ray Walker, Laurie Williamson, and Wysandria Woolsey—have perfected their vocal and acting craft in other Andrew Lloyd Webber productions. Besides Davis Gaines, who gives a memorable performance as the escaped prisoner, Timothy Nolen as Boone, the drunken father, Candy Buckley, as Aunt Dot, and Steve Scott Springer as Amos are also excellent performers.

While the many show tunes specifically written to fit the rural nature of the landscape such as "Wrestle With the Devil," "The Nature of the Beast," and "Whistle Down the Wind," few have catchy words and tunes that can easily be remembered after the show. As with any show, you can weigh the factors in the shows favor or disfavor. On the plus side is the strong performance by all The Really Useful Company members and the special effects to make the vivid Louisiana landscape.