David Adkins

Even beset with tuberculosis, Adkins' Thoreau is filled with juice, emotion, and opinion. He is a philosopher and this production provides him with an audience. It is a time when John Brown, after having led a revolt opposing slavery in Harper's Ferry, Virginia, is about to hang for his action. Brown became a national figure and as a white man acted upon his empathy with and for black people.

Thoreau, a person of peace, realizes (through Brown's decision) that standing up and even possibly using force could be a justifiable means toward an ethical resolution. Thoreau did write, in "A Plea for John Brown," "I do not wish to kill or be killed, but I can foresee circumstances in which both these things would be unavoidable." Adkins, in his own life, has been influenced by Thoreau, by "Walden" and other works.

The play begins at dawn and Adkins' Thoreau, sans clothing, is communicating with a rooster. He makes sounds, chortles ... wheezes. He later recalls what it was like to be jailed for one night—for refusing to pay taxes. The monologue rambles yet fascinates. He talks about the number of visitors he had when living in the woods. He reads the newspaper accounts of John Brown's circumstances and wonders about a man's behavior—that of Brown and his own. He says, "Every path but your own is the path of fate." Again, he ponders the use of physical power. He reads aloud, evidently from "Walden," and acknowledges that change is within him.

Adkins came to the Berkshire Theatre Festival in 1985 as an apprentice actor. Last season, he personified Edgar Allen Poe. He has appeared a multitude of times on BTG stages and at many regional theaters. Eric Hill worked with Adkins on Poe and has performed and directed for BTG for years. Hill is also a highly skilled actor and as a director his vision and specificity are distinctive traits.

Hill punctuates the performance with strategically placed bursts of light and sound (at one moment, reverberations are felt in house seats). Thus, lighting designer Matthew E. Adelson and sound designer J. Hagenbuckle are significantly important. Michael J. Riha's set is physically evocative as it includes a plethora of mounted written pages—all over. I strode up to one and saw prose from "Walden." Otherwise, the staging includes some tree stumps and broken-down cabin remnants.

Adkins spews forth with zeal. He is both wild and wide-eyed. Thoreau, while his health deteriorates further, is experiencing a revelation and, in his early 40s, coming of age moments. Sadly, he would die a few years later. Adkins wears all of this upon his expressive and open face. With shaggy silver hair and dressed accordingly by costumer David Murin, the actor seems to be operating within Thoreau's mind and body.

I saw the fourth performance of the piece and witnessed an impassioned actor bringing forth his agitation, perplexity, and desire to articulate and communicate. Should this script be tweaked? Not mightily. Yes, Adkins might discover areas he could accentuate further and those which could be diminished. The core, though, is sound and this one person play is acute and incisive. Toning it down would serve only to sanitize, and the work would lose its strength. Adkins is stoked throughout and his interpretation of Thoreau never flags.

Thoreau or, Return to Walden continues at the Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, as part of Berkshire Theatre Group's summer season. The show runs through July 11th, 2015. For tickets, call (413) 997-4444 or visit www.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org.

Photo: Michael J. Riha

- Fred Sokol