The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

D+

The election of our current president has led to a glut of productions of this parable of fascism and corruption during the rise of Hitler; this version at Classic Stage Company is the fourth in New York this year. Since my track record with Brecht is not good — I will admit somewhat shamefacedly that I have never really enjoyed a Brecht play — it was probably a mistake for me even to get a ticket. However, hope springs eternal and I was curious to see what CSC director John Doyle would do with the play and how Raul Esparza (Company, The Homecoming) an actor I have always enjoyed, would fare in the title role. I should have stayed home. I found the production wanting in just about every respect. First there is the play itself. I did not think transposing Hitler’s rise to the story of a gangster fighting for control of the Chicago cauliflower trust was an apt metaphor. Lest we miss the connections, an announcer bursts in periodically to tell us what event in Germany corresponds to what is happening onstage. Secondly I had a problem with George Tabori’s translation, which alternated between stilted verse and gangster talk. Thirdly, I was puzzled by Doyle’s ugly set which fences off the back of the stage to represent some vague industrial space with workmen’s lockers, helmets hanging on the wall and bright lights shined at the audience periodically. (Regular readers of this blog know how I feel about shining bright lights in the audience’s eyes.) The actors periodically drag chairs and folding tables from this back room to and from the main performing space. The costumes by Ann Hould-Ward (Passion, Allegro) offered little help in defining the characters. I never did figure out why actors donned welder’s helmets from time to time. The quality of the acting varied. I thought Eddie Cooper (This Ain't No Disco) as Roma and Christopher Gurr (All the Way) as Dogsboro/Dullfeet stood out. The other actors were George Abud (The Band's Visit), Elizabeth A. Davis (Allegro), Omozé Idehenre, Mahira Kakkar (The Winter's Tale) and Thom Sesma (Pacific Overtures). As for Raul Esparza, he coped reasonably well with a role that was not a natural fit. The first act builds rather slowly. In my favorite scene, Ui hires an actor to teach him how to walk, talk and sit. After intermission, the audience was a bit smaller. The mood darkens in the second act and we start hearing faint recorded shouts of “Sieg Heil!” in the background. The transformation of this shout to “Lock her up!” in the final moments was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. While a cautionary tale about how fascism develops is certainly welcome today, I don’t feel this is a very effective one. Running time: two hours five minutes including intermission. NOTE: CSC no longer distributes paper programs so you may want to download the digital version on your smartphone before you arrive.

The Threepenny Opera **

Literally from the very first note, I felt that something was amiss with the new Atlantic Theater production of this Brecht-Weill classic. Although the seven musicians were visible onstage, the sound was coming from a spot somewhere over my head. The decision to amplify the music in a theater ot this size seems both unnecessary and wrongheaded. It creates an artificial gap between the musicians and the actors and diminishes any sense of intimacy. Furthermore, the production lacks both a clear unifying vision and a strong sense of time and place. It rarely engaged me at any level. In the past, I have not been a fan of Martha Clarke and her direction and choreography here do nothing to change my mind. On the plus side,  there are abundant vocal treats; both Laura Osnes as Polly and Sally Murphy as Jenny sing beautifully. It's a pleasure to see and hear Mary Beth Peil as Mrs. Peachum and Michael Park is a fine Macheath. F. Murray Abraham is adequate as Mr. Peachum. Robert Israel's set is dark and dreary. Donna Zakowska's costumes fared better. The whole came across to me as considerably less than the sum of its parts. In the long production annals of the show, this production will be remembered, if at all, as the one that featured an English bulldog in a key role. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes including intermission.