The Martha's Vineyard Times The Martha's Vineyard Times
The Martha's Vineyard Times The Martha's Vineyard Times The Martha's Vineyard Times
The Martha's Vineyard Times The Martha's Vineyard Times

Theatre

Darren Frazier
Ben Lambert (Darren Frazier) in "This Island Alone." Photos by Ralph Stewart

Sin of omission

By Anna Marie D'Addarie - June 21, 2007

No, you never get any fun
Out of things you haven't done,
But they are the things that I do not like to be amid,
Because the suitable things you didn't do give you a lot more trouble than the unsuitable things you did.
The moral is that it is probably better not to sin at all, but if some kind of sin you must be pursuing,
Well, remember to do it by doing rather than by not doing.

From "Portrait of an Artist as a Prematurely Old Man" by Ogden Nash

When examining two types of sin, the sin of commission and the sin of omission, poet Ogden Nash writes that it is those things we fail to do that are the greater sins.

Darren Frazier
Actor Darren Frazier as up-Islander Ben Lambert.

In my review of "This Island Alone," which appeared in last week's Times, one entire paragraph about actor Darren Frazier was omitted and this certainly constitutes a very big sin indeed. Not only because Mr. Frazier's performance was simply wonderful, but the show is an ensemble effort, each actor working with and through each other actor.

Mr. Frazier plays Ben Lambert, a character central to the story. Ben Lambert is a craftsman and storyteller and certainly someone you would meet at the Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Society Fair. It is Mr. Lambert who is cut to the bone by Mr. Stone's question about the deaf community on Martha's Vineyard. It is through Mr. Lambert that the audience sees the shift in what was and what will now be. But it is through Mr. Frazier's performance that we feel the pain and hurt. His final moment on stage is so subtle, his exit so quiet, that it makes his absence profound. The audience would love to run and grab him and tell him everything will be okay. We can't and it won't.

Do yourself a favor and see "This Island Alone" at the Vineyard Playhouse. Don't commit your own sin of omission.

"This Island Alone," runs Tuesday through Saturday, until July 7. Times and ticket prices vary. For more information, call 508-696-6300 or visit www.vineyardplayhouse.org.