Backstage @ New Rep: reviews

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Rock The Boat

by New Rep Reviewer Frank

Kate Warner opens her first season at New Rep with the classic play Mister Roberts. Being of a younger generation, I had not heard of the play nor the movie until New Rep announced this production. The play takes place on a Navy supply vessel and shows a perspective of war that does not always come to mind – the behind the scenes work of bringing supplies, the boredom, the tension. The ship is filled with a crew of good-looking men in uniform (occasionally shirtless) and one good-looking woman who show that war is more than just front-line combat, and, while the piece was written in the 1940s, it still resonates today. The play centers on Mister Roberts, a Lieutenant in the Navy who longs for the day he gets to see combat and really contribute in the war. We see his many attempts, with the help of his crew, to obtain a transfer from the ship’s captain as well as the complex relationships between the crewmembers. The play itself isn’t perfect and could end just fine without the last five minutes of the show, but is an interesting and sometimes funny portrayal.

The entire cast is strong, but especially strong are Thomas Piper as Mister Roberts and Paul D. Farwell as the captain – you can feel the tension in the room between the two of them. Patrick Lynch’s multi-level set, while simple, does a great job at evoking the ship – the only thing missing is having the set gently rock back and forth – something I’m sure the audience is grateful that it is missing. Molly Trainer’s attention to the crew’s costumes is amazing – you see all the sweat and the stains of a hard day’s work in the sun. Kudos should also go out David Wilson for his sound design incorporating many subtle background elements that really adds to the mood of the production. If you enjoy men in uniform, palm trees, Johnnie Walker Red Label, goats, soapsuds, and lots of alcohol – or if you’re curious as to what all these have to do with a Navy supply ship – check out Mister Roberts, a solid beginning to Kate Warner’s career with New Rep!

Is Tropical Still Topical?

by Jack Craib, New Rep Reviewer

Inaugurating the current New Rep season with "Mr. Roberts", last seen on Broadway six decades ago, was a gutsy move. Not only is wartime nostalgia a rare commodity these days, but most folks are no doubt familiar with the film version that boasted more stars than the average general. The team of Fonda, Cagney and Lemmon (and William Powell too) is a memory hard to erase. It is a testimony to the shrewdness of this production's casting that audience members can manage to do so and appreciate the spot-on performance level this cast maintains.
The play itself, surprisingly after such a long hiatus, manages to remain relevant because it doesn't only deal with a navy cargo ship in the steamy South Pacific. Despite its specific period look and sound (sailors with such unsalty language?), it tackles much broader and grander issues. While it may be difficult for some today to empathize with the title character's lament that the war is "dying before he can get to it", there is no such problem with identifying with his compassion for his men and the realization that it is boredom that threatens to destroy their morale.
After a somewhat slow start due to a healthy dose of exposition that will later prove just how tightly written the play is, that concept moves front and center in the person of the officer ironically in charge of morale (and laundry), the morally ambiguous Ensign Pulver. As do the other men on board, he clearly worships the water their Executive Officer, Mr. Roberts, walks on. It is his validation Pulver seeks but doesn't find, at least initially; Mr. Roberts even bluntly states that he'll respect his morale officer if and when a threatened prank on the ship's megalomaniacal captain is actually carried off and when he has the guts to knock on the captain's door and admit to it. It is to the credit of the playwrights (Thomas Heggen, from his novel, and Joshua Logan) that the work's most memorable and heartfelt moment (the ultimate disposition of a botanical "malignant growth") is the bittersweet climax that amazingly unites humor and pathos, and resonates with an undeniable relevance.
As noted, the cast is pitch perfect, above and below deck. Thomas Piper exudes powerful strength and profound tenderness as the heroic Mr. Roberts, and Jonathan Popp provides an egaging Pulver who comes into his own in the second act as his character blossoms. As the Queeg-like Captain from Boston, Paul D. Farwell is the ideal foil for Mr. Roberts' foiled ideals, and Owen Doyle as Doc is his expressive anchor. All of the cast seem just right, including Ed Hoopman as Dolan, whose dashed hopes prove to be pivotal.
Technically, the production is virtually flawless. The sound, lighting and costumes (right down to the realistic sweat stains) are all shipshape, and the set design is ingenious in its versatility. ("Virtually flawless", because the set is easily the noisiest in memory, which enhances authenticity if not audibility). The ship is a bit less populated than on its first sailing in 1948 (fewer sailors, one fewer palm tree), but its impact survives. If this first offering is any indication of the directing abilities of new Artistic Director Kate Warner (and there are quite a few nice touches without being overdone), New Rep audiences have a good deal of great theater to look forward to. And that's without even considering the masterfully underplayed palm-chewing goat.