Mr. Belvedere rings the bell

By Evelyn C. McDonald

January 30, 2020

Last Sunday at Story & Song’s upstairs performance space, there was a staged reading of “Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell.” The play, based on “The Silver Whistle by Robert McEnroe, explores ageing with humor, which offers the audience an opportunity to consider the issue seriously.

Briefly the plot of the play concerns the efforts of Mr. Belvedere to understand the occupants of a retirement home. Belvedere is in his forties and writes and speaks about living a fuller life. He believes that he can transform the seniors in the home. Taking a birth certificate from a deceased man in his seventies, Belvedere pretends to be that man and takes up residence in the home.

Once there, he talks to the seniors and views their surroundings. Nothing in their environment is beautiful or uplifting. Their courtyard is largely dirt. The seniors in the play are different in terms of maladies but alike in their reactions to them. Withdrawal, depression, and complaint are the initial themes. Belvedere begins a campaign to bring them back to a livelier appreciation of life. Some larceny is involved but it’s benign.

He convinces two men that he has a potion that he relies on to restore vigor. He takes the seniors on a picnic. Slowly the seniors begin to change their attitudes. There are no “miracle” cures. An actor walking with a stoop is not suddenly transformed to stand erect. These changes are in attitudes and, most importantly, in their surroundings. Belvedere is eventually found out and the seniors are again depressed. But good will triumphs at the end.

The play does not take the expected paths. It leads you up to the point where you are sure of what’s coming next then takes a turn you didn’t expect. However, it is a plausible turn. One example – One of the seniors, Mr. Beebee pursues Ms. Sampler, another resident of the home. Toward the end of the play, he takes her hand and proudly announces that he has asked her – wait for it, - to be his beneficiary and she has agreed.

The play is a good example of the power of humor to allow us to consider serious issues. And it is singularly appropriate in the choice of cast members. Most of them are members of Vintage Players, a group who are seniors themselves. They meet weekly to rehearse and perform, having a love of acting that transcends age. They are supported in this reading by younger members and directed by Jason Woods, who also plays Belvedere.

A good entertainment in many respects. If it is staged again in or area, I recommend it.

Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. Evelyn is vice-chair on the Amelia Center for Lifelong Learning and is on the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.