4-27-07
Puppetmaster Relevant, Not Quite Real
John Kahara and Kim McKean in Trap Door’s The Swan. (Photo: Beata Pilch) Over the last few days, I’ve sat and watched constant, inescapable coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings: interviews with the gunman’s roommates, with those who knew him in his home town, with those who came face to face with him that day and survived. And I’ve marveled that this massacre – 33 dead by the latest count I’ve seen – is actually the worst shooting massacre in U.S. history.
And then I hear of the latest casualty figures from Iraq, where death counts 10 times this number are a daily possibility. How can a society cope with that kind of regular pressure? If Virginia Tech students are suffering survival guilt, how do surviving Iraqis manage? How do the survivors of tragedies even worse get through the day?
This question lies at the heart of Writers’ Theatre’s current production of The Puppetmaster of Lodz. Finkelbaum, the title character, escaped the Nazi death camps at the end of World War II, not long before the Allies would have liberated them. He found himself on the outskirts of Berlin where he persuaded the owner of a boarding house to let him a room. It’s five years later and he’s never left. He refuses to believe the war is over. Before the camps, Finkelbaum was a puppetmaster and he’s created a little world for himself inside his small apartment. He’s constructed a nearly life-size puppet of his wife, whom he treats as though she were alive. And with her collaboration, he’s working on a puppet production of the story of his life.
Playwright Gilles Segal has an interesting premise, and he’s added a bit of plot – the landlady has recruited help in her attempts to convince Finkelbaum the war is, in fact, over. That comes in the form of an American officer who’s pursuing escaped Nazis and, somewhat inexplicably, assumes a variety of disguises to try to persuade Finkelbaum of the truth. But the success or failure of the production rests squarely on actor Larry Neumann, Jr.’s portrayal of Finkelbaum.
Neumann certainly has developed a believable, well-grounded survivor who has let survival dominate his existence. Skinny and a bit grubby-looking, we can believe that Finkelbaum has not gone out in years. And while Neumann is not, as far as I can tell, a trained puppeteer, he does a credible job handling the various puppets, particularly his wife. It’s a very credible portrayal of a small man overwhelmed by huge events.
But something is lacking to help us want to spend two-plus hours with the man. He’s not particularly sympathetic, with his pathetic refusal to face facts. Director Jimmy McDermott and Neumann understandably go for the comedy in Finkelbaum’s interactions with the landlady, but that somehow minimizes the real fear that Finkelbaum has carefully nurtured and that keeps him shut in. Only when his world is shattered by the return of his friend from the camps do we catch a real glimpse of the self-torture Finkelbaum has maintained all these years. The ending, credibly handled by Neumann and Steve Ratcliff as the successful friend, also rings strangely. It’s easy to believe Finkelbaum won’t be able to bring himself to leave, but a bit harder to buy that he can suck others into his personal hell.
It might not be possible to fully convey the horror of surviving a concentration camp on stage. Certainly Segal has not completely succeeded with Puppetmaster. But sadly, these stories maintain their relevance on into the present day.
The Puppetmaster of Lodz, Writers’ Theatre Chicago
Chris Jones, Tribune – ”[T]he play is mostly a monologue, delivered by Neumann as he dances between his silent puppets. It’s a formidably challenging role and the actor has resolved many, but not all, of its demands. He surely has captured the character’s gruff isolation, his lonely eccentricity and his desperation to shut out the world. And his manipulation of the puppets is superb. But some things are missing. Neumann’s character doesn’t pull us in emotionally, mostly because the inner reaches of Finkelbaum’s heart seem locked away from our grasp… Similarly, McDermott’s honorable production struggles to clarify the play’s themes, especially in the pivotal last half-hour. This is a play about a decision and this director still needs to figure out how to invest his audience in that choice.”
Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times – “A fantasia rooted in the darkest truths, this show, which opened Tuesday in Writers’ ideally intimate Books on Vernon space, is a blend of magical acting and gorgeous stagecraft. The material is familiar; the approach is highly imaginative and strangely beautiful. First produced in the 1980s, Puppetmaster (with an English translation by Sara O’Connor) has arrived here with meticulous, absurdist-tinged direction [by] Jimmy McDermott, an altogether peerless performance by actor Larry Neumann Jr. as Finkelbaum and eerily poetic puppets by Michael Montenegro.”
Tony Adler, Reader – “A traumatized survivor of Birkenau, Finkelbaum works so hard at denial that he never leaves the flat he shares with a life-size puppet/effigy of his dead wife. Segal has nothing new to say, really; his narrative gambits are conventional, his insights familiar. What makes this piece compelling is the room it allows Larry Neumann Jr. simply to inhabit Finkelbaum inhabiting his flat – telling his loving, painful tale with the help of Michael Montenegro’s miraculous rag-and-wire puppets.”
Jenn Q. Goddu, Free Press – “Larry Neumann Jr. is a Chicago actor who can be counted on to bring quiet intensity to a character. The new feat this talented performer accomplishes at Writers’ Theatre is to endow a beating heart of intimacy not only to his title character in The Puppetmaster of Lodz but also the puppet he interacts with as his wife… Regrettably, this slow reveal of the reality of the Puppetmaster’s situation can drag on. Especially as director Jimmy McDermott and Neumann don’t fully mine the opportunities for comic relief provided for by the at times silly turn of the puppet stories and the Puppetmaster’s own obvious sense of humor.”
Emily Lee, Gay Chicago – “What I saw this night was a repetitive asking of the question; will the war ever really be over for those who suffered? This is another very pertinent question. The answer we find, very quickly, is no. Unfortunately, once the question is answered 10 minutes into act one, the play is essentially over. It is difficult to say whether, having paid your money and watched this two-hour question being asked, you would enjoy the evening or not. Several audience members were moved to tears; several others (I counted 12) left after act one and, I might add, not without expressing their disappointment loud enough for the rest of us to hear.”
Scott C. Morgan, Windy City – “Director Jimmy McDermott guides his powerful ensemble through the dramatic and emotional highs of the play quite well. Neumann, as Finkelbaum, gets a particularly wrenching workout – not only physically manipulating the puppets, but emotionally as well. While there’s no escaping the play’s wallowing in the horror of man’s inhumanity to his fellow man, it’s pretty much a prerequisite of any drama dealing with the Holocaust. Surprisingly, the puppets help to ratchet up that horror symbolically without uttering a word – making The Puppetmaster of Lodz an even more powerful experience.”
A Lie of the Mind, Strawdog Theatre Company
Nina Metz, Tribune – “A Lie of the Mind, Sam Shepard’s operetta of dysfunction, is a notoriously long play. Productions I’ve seen have been in the three-hour range; an off-Broadway production in 1985 clocked in at four hours. At just over two hours, the current revival at Strawdog Theatre (a strong effort directed by Nic Dimond) is considerably shorter – and the play is better for it. Shepard makes his points early and often. No sense in dragging things out.”
Mary Houlihan, Sun-Times – “Casting a Shepard play can be tricky business, but Strawdog Theatre artistic director Nic Dimond is up to the task. Backed by moody live music, the outstanding ensemble cast brings the play to life with a grim reality that enhances Shepard’s precise, intelligent writing. [Janet] Brooks is unforgettable as Jake’s tough, no-nonsense mother who eyes life with a cautious hatred. In two hardcore performances, [Jamie] Vann and [Shannon] Hoag bring a rootless yearning to the roles of Jake and Beth.”
Justin Hayford, Reader – “Sam Shepard’s unwieldy 1985 play – an underdeveloped mix of melodrama, sitcom, and traumedy – deals with two doomed families linked by a young married couple who can’t differentiate between violence and love. It invites indulgent acting, but for the most part director Nic Dimond skillfully reins in his admirable cast. They may miss much of Shepard’s twisted humor, but their carefully styled performances make for an engaging two hours.”
Mary Shen Barnidge, Windy City – “What distinguishes this Strawdog production from its predecessors is that director Nic Dimond and his actors refuse to editorialize, instead immersing themselves in their characters, whose actions are portrayed as wholly logical and commonplace… By trusting us to get it on our own, Dimond and company leave us to our own assessment of Shepard’s cryptic purpose. Is it a comment on the waning of tribal values in the American West? An inquiry into the nature of love? Or a sorry tale of unhappy families resorting to extreme measures in pursuit of peace? No matter what your conclusions, Strawdog delivers an evening well worthy of scrutiny.”
Ragtime, Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago
Chris Jones, Tribune – ”[W]hile L. Walter Stearns’ production is no stunning feat of revisionist direction (the stage pictures are limited, and the design mostly reminds me of the set for It’s a Wonderful Life), this show features an uncommonly talented cast. And along with vocal renditions that go far, far beyond what Porchlight has offered us earlier this season (any of its seasons, really), this piece brims with such communal heart that all the right emotional keys are tinkled.”
Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times – “When the voices of the 21-person cast soar – and you rarely will hear a more gorgeous sound – they hold you spellbound. So do the actors’ precision-tooled characterizations. This Ragtime – with director L. Walter Stearns, musical director Eugene Dizon and that most ingenious choreographer, Brenda Didier, all working at the very top of their games – is sensational on every count.”
Lawrence Bommer, Reader – “Terrence McNally’s fluid dialogue, Lynn Ahrens’s compassionate lyrics, and Stephen Flaherty’s gorgeous variations on ragtime waltzes and cakewalks are grist for L. Walter Stearns’s powerful Porchlight Music Theatre mill. This revival moves in every way, partly because it dispenses with the elaborate scene changes of Frank Galati’s original Broadway production. The performances persuade, the dancing is period perfect, and the casting is unimprovable.”
Dennis Polkow, Reader – “Porchlight Music Theatre’s artistic director L. Walter Stearns succeeds where so many others have failed by having enough faith in the work to let it speak for itself and dictate what happens on stage. This is the largest production that Porchlight has mounted and all of the stops have been pulled out, from first-class leads who can deliver the goods on the show’s eleven-o’clock numbers down to singing and dancing children. Experiencing Ragtime in a post-9/11 environment offers a fresh examination of our own prejudices and fears with scenarios that could, sadly enough, be culled right out of today’s headlines.”
Novid Parsi, Time Out – “For E.L. Doctorow’s tripartite tale of early-20th-century Americans – rich whites, poor immigrants, struggling blacks – director Stearns has culled fine-voiced actors for Flaherty’s beautiful, rousing score: Charissa Armon, Aaron Graham, Scott Sowinski and Jayson Brooks, among others. Regrettably, the director’s positive contributions end with his casting. Lacking an aesthetic vision, Stearns doesn’t direct his cast members but, in the technical and literal senses, merely blocks them. The actors rely on their own talent and charm, on Eugene Dizon’s solid musical direction and, of course, on Flaherty’s score to forge some musically thrilling moments.”
Brian Kirst, Free Press – “Epic musical theater lovers whose limbs begin to ache at the three-hour mark should take due note. By reducing cast members and dropping time-consuming scene changes, Porchlight Music Theatre presents a tighter, enormously effective version of Ragtime. In fact director L. Walter Stearns, with the immeasurable aid of assistant director and multiple Ragtime veteran Lili-Anne Brown, may have just crafted the most beautifully accessible version yet of this Tony Award-winning musical.”
Jonathan Abarbanel, Windy City – “Director L. Walter Stearns gives equal attention to the intimate and sweeping halves of the tale, astutely balancing big physical elements against emotional shadings. Stearns and choreographer Brenda Didier, who provides more musical staging than dance, deftly move the company of 21 so the stage never feels crowded and focus is precise. He accomplishes this, in part, by a scenic design (by Roy Hines) that mostly keeps the three-quarter round thrust stage empty and uncluttered. Eminently practical but also neutral, it adds little flavor to the show, but is a necessary sacrifice to cast size.”
Something’s Afoot, Drury Lane Theatre Oakbrook
Chris Jones, Tribune – ”[A] professional production is what director David Perkovich has attempted. In the second act, he manages a few good visual laughs as the various personages stuck in the house of Lord Dudley Rancour try to identify the imaginative murderer in their midst. The gag here is that every murder takes place through some clever little trick, explosion or other sight gag on the booby-trapped set. And, for sure, the sight of the game actress McKinley Carter warbling some forgettable ballad or another while pursued by a moving chandelier is enough to wake you briefly from your stupor. Briefly.”
Quote of the Fortnight:
“Turning an iconic movie into a theatrical farce can be dangerous indeed: though it might work brilliantly, it can easily fail embarrassingly.” – Ryan Hubbard reviewing New Millennium’s production of Danger Zone: The Making of a Top Gun Musical in the Reader.