Whenever I walk into the BU Theatre on Huntington Avenue for a production by the Huntington Theatre Company, my first thought is always: "I wonder what the set will look like." In the years that I have been attending plays in this venue, I have never been disappointed by the sumptuous and evocative sets that have created consistently memorable mise-en-scène for Huntington produced plays. That record is still intact, for the soaring cityscape designed for "Awake And Sing!" by James Noone reaches up into the rafters, and includes brick walls, I-beams, and endless doors leading to endless tenement flats in a Depression Era New York City Bronx neighborhood. When the action begins, the compnent parts of the Berger family's flat come flying in from the wings, and we are sitting in a perfectly reconstructed 1930's era urban home with the crooning of Enrico Caruso providing a fitting aural backdrop. Period costumes by Michael Krass, lighting by Brian J. Lilienthal and sound design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen complete the technical foundation for the telling of this story that sometimes feels like an urban "Grapes of Wrath," with the Berger family standing in as a clan of Jewish Joads.
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| James Noone's set Clifford Odets’ stirring American classic AWAKE AND SING!, Directed by Melia Bensussen, Playing November 7 – December 7, 2014 at the BU Theatre / Avenue of the Arts. Photo: T. Charles Erickson |
This early Odets play is very much an ensemble piece with a multi-generational family talking and fighting and scrambling to survive in a very Chekhovian way. Director Melia Bensussen, whose own family history parallels many of the themes played out in "Awake and Sing!" has the cast members interacting with one another in complex and changing arrays of alliances and secret plans and plots. While there are economic and political themes that reverberate well with our current era, some of the speech patterns are dated, making the play at times feel like a museum piece still redolent of mothballs. The energy of the cast, however, often infuses this old chestnut with new life.
Cast:
Michael Goldsmith as Ralph Berger
David Wohl as Myron Berger
Annie Purcell as Hennis Berger
Will LeBow as Jacob
Lori Wilner as Bessie Berger
Kevin Fennessy as Schlosser
Eric T. Miller as Moe xelrod
Stephen Schnetzer as Uncle Morty
Nael Nacer as Sam Feinschreiber
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| Will LeBow as Jacob Stephen Schnetzer as Uncle Morty Michael Goldsmith, as Ralph Lori Wilner as Bessie ,Eric T. Miller as Moe in Clifford Odets’ stirring American classic AWAKE AND SING!, Directed by Melia Bensussen, Playing November 7 – December 7, 2014 at the BU Theatre / Avenue of the Arts. Photo: T. Charles Erickson |
Standing out among this excellent cast is Boston stage icon Will LeBow, whose role as left-leaning pater familias Jacob is subtly powerful. When his character departs in the dramatic ending to Act II, his absence is keenly felt in the final act. Michael Goldsmith as his grandson, Ralph, is a strong presence, striving to find a way to make a life for himself in a failing economy and a decaying family. Annie Purcell is convincing as his older sister who wrestles with the extremes of maintaining decorum and following her heart. Nael Nacer is perfect in his role as her much-maligned and entrapped immigrant husband. Lori Wilner is the prototypical kvetching Jewish mother, doling out coins and complaints as she seeks to control every aspect of her family's life. Eric T. Miller is the odd man out as the WWI wounded vet who loves Hennie and hangs around the Berger family insinuating himself into a variety of imbroglios. David Wohl as Myron is the perfect schlemiel of a henpecked husband.
This play is a piece of American history and theater history, and is well worth taking in.
"Awake And Sing!" is playing through December 7, 2014 at the BU Theatre / Avenue of the Arts.
Huntington Theatre Website
Enjoy!
Al
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