Full Article Text
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018
THEATER: The Irresistible Raul Esparza in
"Arturo Ui"
THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI *** out of ****
CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY
I've never seen this Bertolt Brecht play before and it's easy to see why.
I can readily imagine it as an earnest, tiresomely obvious lecture onthe rise of Adolf Hitler, a production that would scare one off this playand Brecht in general for years to come. This dire warning was
essentially ready to be performed in 1941. But American theater
companies weren't ready to stage such a provocative show when theUS was still officially neutral in World War II. So it sat in a draweruntil after Brecht died. Finally in 1958 it made its debut and hasproven catnip ever since for lead actors like Christopher Plummer,
Simon Callow, Al Pacino, Antony Sher and many others.
Who can resist the idea of playing a two-bit hood from Brooklyn that
muscles into the cauliflower trade in Chicago, viciously betraying anyfriend and crushing any enemy that gets in his way? Not star Raúl
Esparza, in an electrifying, satisfying performance that reminds us
how good this actor can be. Arturo Ui is intended to be a flashy, largerthan life role and you can't go too big when transforming from a punkinto a world class dictator.
And yet Esparza never does go big , except when the finale absolutely
demands it. He has an intriguing emotional reserve on stage; you feel
Esparza is always holding something back, something that remains hisown even when he's in the spotlight demanding your attention. Thatworks a charm here since no one ever really knows Arturo Ui, the
soulless, pitiless golem that cannot betray anyone since he never
pretended anyone else matters. Arturo demands loyalty but he never,ever offers it.MICHAEL GILTZ AT WORK
Michael Giltz is a freelance writer
based in NYC and can be reached atmgiltz@pipeline.com
FAVORITE LINKS
Americablog
Five O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's Blog
The Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPN
Radio
Cine-Blog -- George Robinson's Blog
Documents On Art & Cinema - Daryl
Chin's Blog
Brucie G's Wondrous Blog Of
Adventure and Mystery -- Bruce
Greenspan's Blog
BLOG ARCHIVE
► 2019 (7)
▼ 2018 (34)
► December (7)
▼ November (4)
Photo by Joan Marcus (c) 2018
In John Doyle's brisk direction, this brutally funny work embraces the
didactic nature of the text with glee. The audience is seated on three
sides and the cast is held behind a metal fence, rattling off the
introduction that spells out the action soon to take place. They enterthe bare stage via a gate that clangs shut like the door of a prison orthe perimeter of a concentration camp. In case you miss the point, thereal life incidents that served as raw material for Brecht are spelledout year by year, scene by scene, sometimes punctuated with the
sound of adoring crowds cheering on the Führer.
Functional folding tables -- the kind you'll find in any community
center -- are constantly being set up or taken down. Actors move into
position with military briskness, firing off lines like bullets. And then a
table is rotated, two chairs appear and another scene begins with anegotiation or a plea or a plan. Back and forth, again and again, withArturo just an annoying pest on the margins at the start. Then heproves maybe a little useful and is allowed in the door. And then he's
speaking up a little more forcefully and then he has a seat at the table
and before you know it he's at the head of the table. The front man heused to garner the support of the public is pushed aside and how thehell did that happen anyway? Is this schmuck in charge? Really?THEATER: Mike Birbiglia's
"New" Baby
THEATER: The Irresistible Raul
Esparza in "Arturo ...
THEATER: A Musical "King
Kong?" Bananas!
"American...
THEATER: "Eve's Song"
Preaches On The OriginalSin...
► October (6)
► September (1)
► May (5)
► April (6)
► March (4)
► February (1)
► 2017 (6)
► 2016 (2)
► 2015 (14)
► 2014 (2)
► 2013 (5)
► 2012 (18)
► 2011 (15)
► 2010 (10)
► 2009 (43)
► 2008 (86)
► 2007 (781)
► 2006 (2412)
► 2005 (5)
Photo by Joan Marcus (c) 2018
This is agitprop, not realistic drama and it might prove more
medicinal than the bracing tonic we want. Happily, it's fun! The cast
delivers their lines with rat-a-tat glee, like the announcer in aMovietone News reel. Arturo Ui has come to Chicago! The cauliflowerracket is feeling the pressure! The town of Cicero may be next! The
terrific George Abud as a head of the syndicate Arturo wants to take
over is especially good at offering up his dialogue with verve and awicked, desperate gleam in his eyes. But it's not all hijinks and end-of-the-world desperation. As the widow of a man who tried to bend to
Arturo (but didn't bend readily enough), Omozé Idehenre offers an
essential glimpse into the heartrending toll of this tragedy. That makesher eventual acquiescence, her public embrace of this killer and heroh-so-subtly reluctant applause all the more painful. (She's alsowonderful as a cynical official overseeing an investigation withdiligence but inevitably sidelined by the syndicate.)
Yes, Brecht has changed Hitler's domination of German politics into
the deflating "dream" of conquering the vegetable trade. The invasionof Austria becomes the invasion of Cicero. The Reichstag fire istransformed into a warehouse fire used to intimidate anyone foolish
enough to stand up to Arturo's reign. It's silly and mocking --
wonderfully so. Brecht doesn't deflate or diminish what Hitler did; hejust gives it a smaller scale so you can begin to grasp the horror of itall. The death of eight million is beyond us; the death of eight might bewithin our ken.
Photo by Joan Marcus (c) 2018
It's a strong cast, with Abud ( The Band's Visit ) in particular proving
yet again why it's always a good sign to see his name in the credits of a
show. Others like Eddie Cooper and Christopher Gurr keep the satirestinging but hold onto a core humanity that makes this more than
allegory. When hearts aren't breaking, satire can be pretty toothless.
The space of the Classic Stage Company has some magic that brings
out the best in scenic designers. Here that holds true, mostly, though a
upper level set behind the fence is distracting. Stairs lead up to it and
one can't help wondering when this space will be used. When it isfinally -- and briefly -- employed, the effect hardly seems worth thebother. Doyle's instinct to pare down failed him here, but it's only aminor distraction. Otherwise, the tech elements are a plus, from thecostumes of Ann Hould-Ward (casually revealing character) to the
lighting of Jane Cox and Teresa James (never attention-grabbing but
always focusing our attention where it needs to be) to the sounddesign of Matt Stine (flashier than sound design usually proves, butnecessarily so in this context).
Doyle uses every inch of the space, fluidly so, and it all climaxes for me
at the end of act one. Arturo knows he must speak in public andcommand more respect, so he turns to a classically trained actor forpointers. She coaches him in how to walk, how to stand, how to sit andabove all how to speak. Esperza has some fun holding his hands over
his crotch the way she suggests, but for the rest of the play these
mannerisms become more and more natural in nicely timed stages.Act one ends with him reciting the famous Marc Antony speech fromJulius Caesar as practice and Esparza transforms from a simple man
of Brooklyn into a more and more commanding speaker until you'resimultaneously magnetized and horrified. At the end of the scene, he'ssitting in a chair with casual authority, spotlit and glowering -- not likea two-bit Mussolini, but like Il Duce himself.
That's it, I thought. I think I've just experienced everything this play
has to offer. Indeed, act two was in many ways just more of the same:it takes the message of act one and underlines it and then adds a fewexclamation points for good measure, nothing more.
But Doyle allows it to slow down and even slip back a bit in pacing, so
we see again Arturo overwhelm the opposition, such as it is. Yes, we'dalready seen this but it felt fresh or at least like a new stage in hismalignant growth. I still believe everything was there in one act;
Brecht's work was done. Yet act two had its own pull, with Idenhenre
getting her chance to shine emotionally. At the very end, Esparza goesfull Adolph during a final ranting speech. While I preferred the silentmenace of his glowering visage of the end of act one, it was shiver-
inducing.
Recent productions have reportedly underlined comparisons to
President Trump and the rise of fascism around the world. I'd callBrecht prescient except one can always safely predict ugliness and hate
will appear in hard times and need to be confronted. The play
concludes by saying yes, this villain Hitler was faced down by theworld. Just don't take too much comfort in that. As Brecht promises indelphic fashion at the very end, "The bitch that bore him is in heatagain."
In a final modest misstep, the audio mix crescendoes with cries of
"Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!" and then segues to "Lock her up! Lock her up!"No need for that, people; Brecht was blunt enough. We got themessage loud and clear.
THEATER OF 2018
Homelife/The Zoo Story (at Signature) *** out of ****
Escape To Margaritaville **
Broadway By The Year: 1947 and 1966 ***
Lobby Hero ***
Frozen **
Rocktopia *
Angels in America ** 1/2
Mean Girls ** 1/2
The Sting **
Mlima's Tale ** 1/2
Children Of A Lesser God ** 1/2
Sancho: An Act Of Remembrance ** 1/2
The Metromaniacs ***
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical *
The Seafarer **
Henry V (Public Mobile Unit w Zenzi Williams) * 1/2
Saint Joan **
Travesties *** 1/2
Summer and Smoke ** 1/2
My Fair Lady ** 1/2
Broadway By The Year: 1956 and 1975 ** 1/2
Bernhard/Hamlet * 1/2
On Beckett ***
What The Constitution Means To Me **
The Winning Side *
Oklahoma **
Mother Of The Maid *
Love's Labour's Lost ** 1/2
The Lifespan of a Fact **
India Pale Ale *
Thunderbodies ***
The Ferryman *** 1/2
Eve's Song *
King Kong *
American Son * 1/2
The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui ***
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the creator of BookFilter, a book
lover’s best friend. It’s a website that lets you browse for books online the
way you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new
releases every week in every category and offers passionate personal recommendations every step of the way. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on
entertainment news of the day with top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It’s available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.
POSTED BY MICHAEL GILTZ AT 11:19 PM
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Post a Comment
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THEATER: The Irresistible Raul Esparza in
"Arturo Ui"
THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI *** out of ****
CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY
I've never seen this Bertolt Brecht play before and it's easy to see why.
I can readily imagine it as an earnest, tiresomely obvious lecture onthe rise of Adolf Hitler, a production that would scare one off this playand Brecht in general for years to come. This dire warning was
essentially ready to be performed in 1941. But American theater
companies weren't ready to stage such a provocative show when theUS was still officially neutral in World War II. So it sat in a draweruntil after Brecht died. Finally in 1958 it made its debut and hasproven catnip ever since for lead actors like Christopher Plummer,
Simon Callow, Al Pacino, Antony Sher and many others.
Who can resist the idea of playing a two-bit hood from Brooklyn that
muscles into the cauliflower trade in Chicago, viciously betraying anyfriend and crushing any enemy that gets in his way? Not star Raúl
Esparza, in an electrifying, satisfying performance that reminds us
how good this actor can be. Arturo Ui is intended to be a flashy, largerthan life role and you can't go too big when transforming from a punkinto a world class dictator.
And yet Esparza never does go big , except when the finale absolutely
demands it. He has an intriguing emotional reserve on stage; you feel
Esparza is always holding something back, something that remains hisown even when he's in the spotlight demanding your attention. Thatworks a charm here since no one ever really knows Arturo Ui, the
soulless, pitiless golem that cannot betray anyone since he never
pretended anyone else matters. Arturo demands loyalty but he never,ever offers it.MICHAEL GILTZ AT WORK
Michael Giltz is a freelance writer
based in NYC and can be reached atmgiltz@pipeline.com
FAVORITE LINKS
Americablog
Five O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's Blog
The Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPN
Radio
Cine-Blog -- George Robinson's Blog
Documents On Art & Cinema - Daryl
Chin's Blog
Brucie G's Wondrous Blog Of
Adventure and Mystery -- Bruce
Greenspan's Blog
BLOG ARCHIVE
► 2019 (7)
▼ 2018 (34)
► December (7)
▼ November (4)
Photo by Joan Marcus (c) 2018
In John Doyle's brisk direction, this brutally funny work embraces the
didactic nature of the text with glee. The audience is seated on three
sides and the cast is held behind a metal fence, rattling off the
introduction that spells out the action soon to take place. They enterthe bare stage via a gate that clangs shut like the door of a prison orthe perimeter of a concentration camp. In case you miss the point, thereal life incidents that served as raw material for Brecht are spelledout year by year, scene by scene, sometimes punctuated with the
sound of adoring crowds cheering on the Führer.
Functional folding tables -- the kind you'll find in any community
center -- are constantly being set up or taken down. Actors move into
position with military briskness, firing off lines like bullets. And then a
table is rotated, two chairs appear and another scene begins with anegotiation or a plea or a plan. Back and forth, again and again, withArturo just an annoying pest on the margins at the start. Then heproves maybe a little useful and is allowed in the door. And then he's
speaking up a little more forcefully and then he has a seat at the table
and before you know it he's at the head of the table. The front man heused to garner the support of the public is pushed aside and how thehell did that happen anyway? Is this schmuck in charge? Really?THEATER: Mike Birbiglia's
"New" Baby
THEATER: The Irresistible Raul
Esparza in "Arturo ...
THEATER: A Musical "King
Kong?" Bananas!
"American...
THEATER: "Eve's Song"
Preaches On The OriginalSin...
► October (6)
► September (1)
► May (5)
► April (6)
► March (4)
► February (1)
► 2017 (6)
► 2016 (2)
► 2015 (14)
► 2014 (2)
► 2013 (5)
► 2012 (18)
► 2011 (15)
► 2010 (10)
► 2009 (43)
► 2008 (86)
► 2007 (781)
► 2006 (2412)
► 2005 (5)
Photo by Joan Marcus (c) 2018
This is agitprop, not realistic drama and it might prove more
medicinal than the bracing tonic we want. Happily, it's fun! The cast
delivers their lines with rat-a-tat glee, like the announcer in aMovietone News reel. Arturo Ui has come to Chicago! The cauliflowerracket is feeling the pressure! The town of Cicero may be next! The
terrific George Abud as a head of the syndicate Arturo wants to take
over is especially good at offering up his dialogue with verve and awicked, desperate gleam in his eyes. But it's not all hijinks and end-of-the-world desperation. As the widow of a man who tried to bend to
Arturo (but didn't bend readily enough), Omozé Idehenre offers an
essential glimpse into the heartrending toll of this tragedy. That makesher eventual acquiescence, her public embrace of this killer and heroh-so-subtly reluctant applause all the more painful. (She's alsowonderful as a cynical official overseeing an investigation withdiligence but inevitably sidelined by the syndicate.)
Yes, Brecht has changed Hitler's domination of German politics into
the deflating "dream" of conquering the vegetable trade. The invasionof Austria becomes the invasion of Cicero. The Reichstag fire istransformed into a warehouse fire used to intimidate anyone foolish
enough to stand up to Arturo's reign. It's silly and mocking --
wonderfully so. Brecht doesn't deflate or diminish what Hitler did; hejust gives it a smaller scale so you can begin to grasp the horror of itall. The death of eight million is beyond us; the death of eight might bewithin our ken.
Photo by Joan Marcus (c) 2018
It's a strong cast, with Abud ( The Band's Visit ) in particular proving
yet again why it's always a good sign to see his name in the credits of a
show. Others like Eddie Cooper and Christopher Gurr keep the satirestinging but hold onto a core humanity that makes this more than
allegory. When hearts aren't breaking, satire can be pretty toothless.
The space of the Classic Stage Company has some magic that brings
out the best in scenic designers. Here that holds true, mostly, though a
upper level set behind the fence is distracting. Stairs lead up to it and
one can't help wondering when this space will be used. When it isfinally -- and briefly -- employed, the effect hardly seems worth thebother. Doyle's instinct to pare down failed him here, but it's only aminor distraction. Otherwise, the tech elements are a plus, from thecostumes of Ann Hould-Ward (casually revealing character) to the
lighting of Jane Cox and Teresa James (never attention-grabbing but
always focusing our attention where it needs to be) to the sounddesign of Matt Stine (flashier than sound design usually proves, butnecessarily so in this context).
Doyle uses every inch of the space, fluidly so, and it all climaxes for me
at the end of act one. Arturo knows he must speak in public andcommand more respect, so he turns to a classically trained actor forpointers. She coaches him in how to walk, how to stand, how to sit andabove all how to speak. Esperza has some fun holding his hands over
his crotch the way she suggests, but for the rest of the play these
mannerisms become more and more natural in nicely timed stages.Act one ends with him reciting the famous Marc Antony speech fromJulius Caesar as practice and Esparza transforms from a simple man
of Brooklyn into a more and more commanding speaker until you'resimultaneously magnetized and horrified. At the end of the scene, he'ssitting in a chair with casual authority, spotlit and glowering -- not likea two-bit Mussolini, but like Il Duce himself.
That's it, I thought. I think I've just experienced everything this play
has to offer. Indeed, act two was in many ways just more of the same:it takes the message of act one and underlines it and then adds a fewexclamation points for good measure, nothing more.
But Doyle allows it to slow down and even slip back a bit in pacing, so
we see again Arturo overwhelm the opposition, such as it is. Yes, we'dalready seen this but it felt fresh or at least like a new stage in hismalignant growth. I still believe everything was there in one act;
Brecht's work was done. Yet act two had its own pull, with Idenhenre
getting her chance to shine emotionally. At the very end, Esparza goesfull Adolph during a final ranting speech. While I preferred the silentmenace of his glowering visage of the end of act one, it was shiver-
inducing.
Recent productions have reportedly underlined comparisons to
President Trump and the rise of fascism around the world. I'd callBrecht prescient except one can always safely predict ugliness and hate
will appear in hard times and need to be confronted. The play
concludes by saying yes, this villain Hitler was faced down by theworld. Just don't take too much comfort in that. As Brecht promises indelphic fashion at the very end, "The bitch that bore him is in heatagain."
In a final modest misstep, the audio mix crescendoes with cries of
"Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!" and then segues to "Lock her up! Lock her up!"No need for that, people; Brecht was blunt enough. We got themessage loud and clear.
THEATER OF 2018
Homelife/The Zoo Story (at Signature) *** out of ****
Escape To Margaritaville **
Broadway By The Year: 1947 and 1966 ***
Lobby Hero ***
Frozen **
Rocktopia *
Angels in America ** 1/2
Mean Girls ** 1/2
The Sting **
Mlima's Tale ** 1/2
Children Of A Lesser God ** 1/2
Sancho: An Act Of Remembrance ** 1/2
The Metromaniacs ***
Summer: The Donna Summer Musical *
The Seafarer **
Henry V (Public Mobile Unit w Zenzi Williams) * 1/2
Saint Joan **
Travesties *** 1/2
Summer and Smoke ** 1/2
My Fair Lady ** 1/2
Broadway By The Year: 1956 and 1975 ** 1/2
Bernhard/Hamlet * 1/2
On Beckett ***
What The Constitution Means To Me **
The Winning Side *
Oklahoma **
Mother Of The Maid *
Love's Labour's Lost ** 1/2
The Lifespan of a Fact **
India Pale Ale *
Thunderbodies ***
The Ferryman *** 1/2
Eve's Song *
King Kong *
American Son * 1/2
The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui ***
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the creator of BookFilter, a book
lover’s best friend. It’s a website that lets you browse for books online the
way you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new
releases every week in every category and offers passionate personal recommendations every step of the way. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on
entertainment news of the day with top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It’s available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.
POSTED BY MICHAEL GILTZ AT 11:19 PM
NO COMMENTS:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)Newer Post Older Post Home