| My review of MACHINAL: Rebecca Hall in rare revival of 1928 expressionist play | |
| Posted by: | jesse21 02:04 pm EST 01/16/14 |
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| - Really, the Roundabout! After giving us a terrifically enjoyable production of The Winslow Boy, they've turned from a mid-twentieth-century classic to a rare one from earlier in the last century. Their new production of Machinal is so imaginative, so interesting and so entertaining that they are starting to look like the National Theatre. I'm hoping this is only the beginning of a trend. Machinal, opening tonight, is a risky work for Broadway, even by not-for-profit standards. What’s more the Roundabout looked to Britain for new faces and came up with three women, all rising stars in their professions, all making their Broadway debuts, and all contributing to the kind of edgy production that breaks this organization’s staid mold in their home at the American Airlines Theatre. The actress Rebecca Hall, who had appeared at BAM in 2009 in the Bridge Project’s Winter’s Tale and The Cherry Orchard, has been winning accolades for her stage, film and television work in The U.K. The director Lyndsey Turner, currently associate director at Sheffield Theatres, whose recent work includes the award-winning Chimerica in the West End. And set designer Es Devlin whose diverse career includes a Lady Gaga tour, Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House, the 2012 Olympics, the current American Psycho at the Almeida, and Julie Taymor’s recent Midsummer’s Night Dream in Brooklyn. Machinal was a Broadway hit when it opened in 1928, unusual then that it was written by a woman, one Sophie Treadwell who loosely based her play on the notorious murder trial of Ruth Snyder (see Sidebar below). The title is pronounced ‘mock-en-AHL’ and is the French term for 'mechanical' or 'automatic’. The main character in the play is described in the cast list as “Young Woman” (Rebecca Hall), although she is called Helen in the dialogue and, thematically, she is Everywoman. Ms. Treadwell’s play is an early feminist tract about a woman who, against her feelings, marries her boss, listed as “Husband" (Michael Cumpsty) and referred to in the dialogue as Mr. (George H.) Jones. She is caught in a trap, needing to support not only herself, but also her nagging “Mother” (Suzanne Bertish). Few choices are open to her besides marriage. Nine episodes (scenes) trace her story from stenographer to unhappy wife of a wealthy man to mother of an unwanted child to an illicit love affair with “Lover” Richard (Morgan Spector) to murder. What’s fascinating is the expressionist dialogue which sounds like the staccato of a telegraph machine, functioning here as a mirror of the kind of ritualistic pattern of life a woman was forced to live back then. In Ms. Treadwell’s poetic prose, she achieves the mechanized effect through word repetition, for example: “First Man: They ain’t going to show. / Second Man: Sure they’ll show. / First Man: How do you know they’ll show?” While the style is similar to Elmer Rice's play The Adding Machine' (1923) and the content to Theodore Dreiser's American Tragedy (1925), Machinal feels distinctive both in its own language, the dramatic fulfillment of its story and its bold feminist theme. In fact, watching the play, you might wonder if the dialogue was inspiration for David Mamet and Harold Pinter. Much of the success of this production is due to Rebecca Hall’s performance which is everything but mechanized. She makes the audience really understand and feel for Helen’s plight. The contrast between repulsion for her husband and adoration for her lover is palpably real. What complicates matters and keeps the story interesting is that the husband is such a nice guy while the lover is a cad. Lyndsey Turner has directed a company of 18 into a cohesive ensemble who work together far more fluidly than you’d expect from the limited rehearsal time that goes into these productions. Besides seeing her vision for the play beautifully realized by Ms. Hall, the rest of her company also shines, in particular, husband Michael Cumpsty who is, as always, excellent. Morgan Spector smolders as the lover (Clark Gable played this role in the original). Suzanne Bertish appropriately annoys as Helen’s mother. And, among the smaller roles, I thought Ashley Bell (another Broadway debut) a sparkling presence as the “Telephone Girl” and two other parts. United and intertwined is the scenic design by Es Devlin which might be worth the price of admission by itself. She has created a framed rectangle which rotates on a large turntable to reveal the nine scenes that manage to have the look (with precise period costumes by Michael Krass), the feel (with noir mood lighting by Jane Cox) and the sound (with original music by Matthew Herbert) of an early black & white motion picture. With each locale, the design conjures a prosperous, anything goes New York City of the Roaring Twenties. And sometimes as the turntable revolves, it mimics Helen’s mindset of passing through the circles of Hell. This is the first Broadway revival of Machinal since its original 97-performance run (a success at the time) at the Plymouth Theatre (now the Schoenfeld). It was seen Off Broadway at the Public in 1990 for 47 performances. But, the production that really put this play on the map in contemporary times appeared on Britain’s National Theatre’s Lyttelton stage in 1993. That memorable revival went on to win four Olivier Awards, including best revival, director (Stephen Daldry) and best actress (Fiona Shaw at age 32). If you missed that one, be assured that you can also applaud the current Machinal with near equal fervor. Kudos to the Roundabout with hopes they will continue on this adventuresome path. ★ ★ ★ ★½ ☆ - Jesse SIDEBAR: “MACHINAL” opens Thursday, January 16, 2014, at the American Airlines Theatre, 227 West 42nd Street, New York City. A Roundabout Theatre Company production. Seen at a preview on Nov. 8. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. No intermission. Limited engagement. Tickets currently on sale through March 2, 2014. Link to website. - | |
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