TCR - Director Jason Alberty notes in the program that Six
Characters in Search of an Author is a difficult play to perform, direct and even watch. It's also a difficult play to review. It is extremely complex and compels audiences (and reviewers!) to think. It also has a controversial past. Luigi Pirandello wrote the play in 1921 and had to escape the theater on opening night because he had so enraged the audience. What Pirandello did with his play was tell the story of six characters from an unfinished play who invade the rehearsals of another play in hopes of having their story told. Much conflict ensues with The Actors on one side, The Characters on the other, and The Director mediating the action. This play forced theatergoers to examine what it means to be a character in a play and to contemplate reality itself. In the nearly ninety years since, we've become accustomed to this sort of meta-analysis in our theatre, movies, TV shows. Back in 1921, it nearly resulted in a lynching of the author.The production of this important work features a blank stage, so unusual for a TCR show, which usually boasts such impressive sets. Later, a few set pieces are added during the action, which emphasizes the fact that we are
witnessing theatre being created. The Characters are wonderfully costumed by Richie Akers with sparkles over (mostly) dark clothing, setting the dramatic mood and suggesting their unreal nature. Some other excellent choices include the engagement of the audience, particularly by The Director. We certainly feel we are part of the creation of a play, getting an inside glimpse into that creative process.In Alberty's update of the piece, he has chosen to have The Actors and The Director live in our modern world of 2010. The Characters, however, appear to still be part of the past. As the audience is supposed to consider the possibility that The Characters are more real than The Actors, this decision undermines one of the central themes of the play. It's far easier to relate to The Actors who are just like us than it is to relate to The Characters. This is perhaps most obvious in the scene where two of the actors attempt to portray The Father and The Step-Daughter. The Step-Daughter ridicules the actor portraying her and ends up engendering sympathy for the entire group of actors, who seems far more "real" to us. Updating half of the cast to the modern world creates an uneven playing field moving the audience's empathy to The Actors instead of The Characters.
There are many excellent individual
performances in this piece. Katy Slaven brings an intensity to her role as The Step-Daughter. As many of the other characters aren't given much to do, her passion is a needed element that keeps us engaged. Speaking of characters who don't have very much to do, both Jacob Coover as The Boy and Alice Conroy as The Child are continually present onstage despite having no lines. Coover, in particular, shows a lot emotion with just his facial expressions and body language, particularly at the end of the play. Kudos to director Alberty for bringing out such a smart performance in a younger actor. We were treated to another excellent performance by Noah Parks as The Director. He's the only of the acting company that's really given a lot to do and he makes wonderful use of the opportunity. He's a commanding presence on stage at all times. One quibble I had with the update of The Director character (called The Manager in the original version) was the number of times he used the word "f*ck" in the play. I get it; we swear in 2010. But his use of the word didn't show us anything about The Director and just struck me as an easy way to bring us to present day. It's one of my favorite words - I don't like to see it used in such a way. But then, that's a quibble.The Father character is the philosopher of the play. David
Morton has a challenging task to make this character relatable. Unfortunately, he is somewhat one-note, using a specific cadence throughout the entire show. Also, the cadence isn't particularly conversational, again undermining the idea that these Characters might be more real than the Actors. He does possess a strong stage presence and does his best work whenever he is interacting with Slaven.The pace of the show is brisk, which is good since it's a three act play. The show comes to a powerful conclusion which surprises us in its suddenness despite the fact that we are well aware we're moving toward this dramatic end. One feels a bit blown away at the end, reeling from the action on stage and the multitude of questions inspired by the play. And isn't that an excellent end to a thought provoking play?
TCR must be commended for bringing this play to the stage. We are fortunate they have the Linge Series which allows them to take such risks. Reward their risk-taking by checking out this production of Six Characters in Search of an Author. I recommend hitting a quiet pub afterward for a beer and a good long discussion about the various thoughts this show will undoubtedly provoke.
(Photos by Rob Merritt.)
