Stars Playhouse, under the artist direction of John Spitzer, has earned its reputation as Bakersfield’s most avant-garde theater. From reviving old John Ford plays from the 17th Century to bringing modern female playwrights to Bakersfield, to exploring some of Thornton Wilder’s less-familiar one act plays, to hosting a traveling re-imagination of the old Greek myth of Medea, it has taken some risks and showcased some works that otherwise would never have made it to our town. Even their version of The Tempest was creative and unexpected.
There are a lot more than these I have listed that were excellent. Unfortunately, I have only been able to see a couple of productions a year here - last year I saw a total of 22 live theater events, both locally and elsewhere, but that still works out to only enough time to see some at each local theater, not everything. This year, I am already up to 13, thanks to our New York City trip and the Broadway productions we saw there. I’m hoping to at least catch Doctor Faustus in a few months.
So, this is definitely one of the weirder plays I have seen. It was written in 1921 by Italian Playwright Luigi Pirandello, who was a forerunner of the Absurdist movement, exemplified by Samuel Beckett and Waiting for Godot. I am not sure which translation was used (although Spitzer indicated it was public domain and that they modified a number of lines.)
Six Characters in Search of an Author is very much meta-theater. The framing story is a group of actors rehearsing a play by…Luigi Pirandello. None of the actors seem to be enjoying their roles, and the director openly dislikes the play. But money must be made. I am reminded of Mozart’s snide dig at The Marriage of Figaro during one scene in Don Giovanni.
The publicity for this play only mentioned the actors for the framing story, by the way, which is the reason we didn’t realize our friend Marina Gradowitz was in the play.
These other characters are just that: characters. They crash the rehearsal, explaining that their author somehow made them “real,” but put the story aside and never finished it, so they are caught without a resolution. They need an author to fill things in and make a complete story they can live.
The director is cajoled into serving as the author, and he departs the stage with the Characters to do so. In the original, this was literally a 20 minute gap in the action with a blank stage. It wasn’t quite as long in this version, but it was the same weird gap, with the house lights still down, and no explanation.
When they come back, the characters keep interfering in the attempt to put on their story, claiming the actors are getting it wrong. Eventually, things get so bad that the Characters leave after the culminating scene, which is a drowning and suicide.
The director then throws up his hands and complains that he has wasted the last two hours. And the play ends with that. No curtain call, hardly any applause, because we weren’t sure it was the end.
So, definitely weird.
But also fascinating, because of the discussions between the “real” characters and the Characters about the relationship between authors, characters, and actors.
I mean, characters live forever in largely unchanging form, while us mere mortals are in constant change, and then we die. The Characters make a compelling argument that they are actually more “real” than we are - despite existing only in fiction and as portrayed by mortals.
I won’t even try to explain the plot that the Characters are living in, other than to say it is a lurid one, with betrayal, prostitution, quasi-incest, and the aforementioned drowning (of a small child) and suicide. It is completely over the top, which allows the Characters to over-emote and bicker constantly.
The bulk of the lines end up going to three of the characters: The Director (John Spitzer), the Father (Karl Wade), and the Stepdaughter (Marina Gradowitz.) As a trio of actors, this was great casting. I love Spitzer and Wade in everything I have seen them in, and Marina is not only a friend, but a talented up-and-coming actor who always shines on stage. (As she did here, in the most over-emotive of the roles.) I’ll also note Jaspreet Singh as the Son. While this isn’t as big of a role, he had to be the counterweight to the others - he doesn’t want to be there, didn’t want to be in the plot in the first place, and really just wishes he could leave.
The rest of the cast mostly had minor lines, but played their parts well. The Characters literally steal the show, but it is the three that drive most of it. In fact, of the Six Characters, two were played by dolls, because they have no lines. And, arguably, there is a seventh Character who has to be summoned for her brief appearance. Such is absurdist theater.
This play isn’t the usual fare, but it is interesting, and Stars Playhouse did a good job of making it work. I’m glad they were willing to take the risk.
This runs on weekends through June 29. Attendance was, unfortunately, sparse when we were there. I encourage my local readers to go see it - we really need to encourage local theaters to take these risks and put on stuff that is out of the ordinary. If we do not, we will just see the same old reliable warhorses over and over, and nobody wants that. Also, if you hang around afterward, it is fun to talk with the actors about this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment