Cuckoo's Nest Hits Home

by Jenni Morin

The Sheldon Vexler Theatre opens its season with a moving production of Dale Wasserman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This 1963 play, adapted from Ken Kessey’s novel of the same name, reaches beyond institutional oppression to today’s conversation of mental illness.

The action takes place in a state mental hospital where the patients have become comfortable in their sterile environment. However, new admit R.P. McMurphy, who is faking insanity to ditch his prison sentence at the work farm, stirs trouble as he refuses to relinquish his identity to the institution, causing a rebellion among the patients. Nurse Ratched oversees the ward and is not amused by McMurphy’s insolence as he tries to get the best of her. She wields her power not just over the patients by threatening them with alternative treatments like shock therapy and lobotomies, but also over the entire staff, including the Dr. Spivey. McMurphy has a profound impact on everyone, especially the presumably deaf and mute Chief Bromden who depends on McMurphy to “grow big” and regain his courage to reenter society. Eventually, Nurse Ratched has enough and provokes McMurphy into violence, earning him the threatened treatment.

A prominent theme throughout is the idea that sanity is relative and what keeps most of the voluntarily committed patients hospitalized is their inability to adjust to the outside world. All of them find comfort in the predictability of the asylum and Nurse Ratched’s overbearing demeanor. She often uses the patents’ neuroses to cajole them into submission, embarrassing and debasing them in front of one another. On a larger scale, the oppression of the institution mirrors that of society as it stigmatizes and ostracizing the mentally ill. Often patients are referred to as “curable,” which in essence is the stripping of individuality and conforming to social norms. With so many stories today about mental illness being the cause, or at least a contributing factor, in so many deaths, suicides and slaughters, the piece is incredibly potent and thought provoking as audiences get a glimpse into these sick minds.

The Vex’s production uses every element to instill a lasting sense of an inescapable void. Audiences are greeted by masked faceless characters marching to the sound of ticking gears, moving the action forward to an inevitable and tragic end. Konnor Frazier’s set is complimented by Chad A Miller’s synchronized sound design and Ken Frazier’s haunting light design. Even the costumes by Tami Kai are meticulously chosen to symbolize the characters’ evolutions through the play. The set, however, complete with ticking gears, sliding doors, exhaust fans and vents is incredibly detailed, allowing each smudge and fingerprint on Nurse Ratched’s glass-encased surveillance booth to symbolize the patients’ asserting themselves. Director Dylan Brainard comes close to genius with this calculated display with its eerie symbolism.

While each and every actor held their own in this production, the standoff between Ken Frazier as McMurphy and Tami Kai as Nurse Ratched was the most compelling. Kai in particular masterfully manipulated each and every scene with a calm, power-drunk entitlement. Kailyr Frazier as Billy Bibbit was incredibly convincing and devastating. Scott Leibowitz as Dale Harding captured the frail, yet paternal, figure perfectly. Without a doubt, it was Ken Frazier’s McMurphy who advanced the plot and moved his fellow patients as well as the audience. Barry Goettl’s Chief Bromden was heart breaking and inspiring all at once.

For every small triumph, there seems to be a larger tragedy. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest begs audiences to recognize how what is normal can also be insane and vice versa. It’s not every day a production can speak so eloquently of such a pervasive issue. The Vex’s production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is harrowing and cautionary and exactly what needs to be said and seen right now.


One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest will run at The Sheldon Vexler Theatre through September 20, 2014 with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays, 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.vexler.org.

Arms and the Man: More Appearances than Appendages

by Jenni Morin

The Classic Theatre’s season production of Arms and the Man is full of fresh faces and the unique brand of George Bernard Shaw’s comedy. In this modern age it may at first seem dated and inconsequential, but it speaks volumes about daily interactions and ideals that define positions in society and social circles.

Set in the mid 1880’s in Bulgaria during the Serbo-Bulgarian War, Shaw’s Arms and the Man pokes fun at notions of love and war. Raina Petkoff is a wealthy heiress engaged to Sergius Saranoff, a major in the Bulgarian army, but she doubts his capacity for bravery until hearing of his valiant charge on the Serbian troops. As the battle comes closer to the house, Captain Bluntschli, a Swiss in the Serbian army, climbs in Raina’s window to avoid the artillery and debunks her fiancé’s heroism, stealing her heart after eating her chocolates. Louka, her servant contemplates spilling her secret, but her fellow servant and fiancé Nicola convinces her she could improve her station if she acts appropriately. When Major Petkoff and Sergius return victorious from the war, Raina and her mother discover they have heard the embarrassing story of their hiding Raina’s “chocolate-cream soldier.” When Bluntschli comes to return the major’s coat he used to sneak away, the whole house is turned upside down, engagements are broken off and stations are abandoned.

Shaw pokes fun at the airs Raina and Sergius put on for each other as lovers, questions the validity of class stations when Louka rises above hers and makes the heroes out to be fools. Director Stacey Connelly does an admirable job conveying these points through her cast. At first, Maggie Tonra’s performance of Raina feels stilted and uninspired, but as the action progresses, it’s obvious the dramatics were by design, exactly the airs Shaw intended to expose. Tyler Keyes as Bluntschli is reminiscent of a Mel Brooks-inspired Cary Elwes, complete with a brazen honesty and sarcasm. Kathleen Couser and Allan S. Ross as Mrs. and Mr. Petkoff take the comedy to new heights, with an especially wonderful performance by Ross who elevates the entire cast.

Abigail Entsminger designed a versatile set able to quickly transform for new venues, while Gregory Starbird’s lighting design had its shining moments. As always, Rick Malone’s sound design set the mood, especially with its quick-paced, up-beat transitional music. Jodi Karjala’s costumes brought it all together with great attention to detail, right down to the puffed sleeves.

This piece is an important part of Shaw’s canon as it was one of his first largely successful plays. While it feels like a comedy of errors, complete with several stock characters, Shaw uses these theatrical conventions to make a satirical point about the behavior of “heroes” and people “in love.” Bluntschli serves as the constant in the experiment, always truthful, forthcoming and perhaps even honest to a fault since he does not care how his actions reflect upon him as he is confident in his own character. He also proves to be the most capable of the bunch, while Nicola is the most cunning because of his ability to accept his station and what that entails, then leverage that knowledge to his advantage. These two are the most insightful, but Raina and Louka have the largest character arcs as they come into their own. In today’s world where a digital veil masks the true person, it’s not surprising a generation is coming to age without knowing who they are and what interactions are real. This play points out this lack of self-awareness and makes this script a very current one.

Arms and the Man is a perfect production to open the Classic’s season. It showcases some new talent—at least on the Classic stage—and reinforces the abilities of some seasoned favorites. In addition, the production asks audience to reflect on their own airs. Arms and the Man is not to be missed, it’s a great comedy for audiences to kick off the fall season back to the stage.

Arms and the Man will run at Classic Theatre’s new venue, the Blackbox Theatre at the Woodlawn, through September 7, 2014 with performances at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.theclassictheatre.org.

Playhouse opens script reading of Rinear's Merry Gentlemen to community

by Jenni Morin

A Christmas Carol is a holiday classic revived each year in theatres across the world to remind audiences to pay less attention to the ever-increasing commercialization of the season and more to the joy of yuletide togetherness.

Local playwright Sheila Rinear has paid homage to the timeless tale with her in-progress work, Merry Gentlemen. Back in June, Rinear had the opportunity to have the script read by some of San Antonio’s finest actors in the Cellar Theater at The Playhouse. Playhouse CEO Asia Ciaravino felt bringing the community into the project would allow audiences to become invested in the creative process.

While the script development process usually takes place behind the scenes, out of the public eye, it’s extremely helpful for the writer to hear the script read aloud, see audience reactions and get immediate feedback before the words are set. “The audience response tells me so much, as well as the actors’ readings,” Rinear explains. In terms of investing in the project, audiences can feel some ownership in offering feedback and see the script grow over several revisions and possibly through to production.

Both the audience and actors were not shy in offering edits to the script after the June reading. Rinear took each into consideration for the next revision, which will be read by the same group of actors, with a couple stand-ins, on Sunday, August 10 at 2 p.m. in the Cellar Theater.

The play begins with Tim limping around, cleaning the apartment and taking care of his recently retired father. As a historian, Ben is constantly occupied with the past and the making of things, so Tim always took care of running the household while Ben was busy at work. Tim often speaks to his deceased mother, Isabelle, who was killed 13 years earlier in a car accident. As his only confidant and friend, Isabelle must find a replacement to look after Tim and Ben when she soon moves on.

Enter Miss Marley, assistant principal at Cratchett High School where Tim is failing all his classes despite having always been a star student. In an attempt to involve Ben more in the troubled teen’s life, Miss Marley takes him to the run down mall where Tim works and where Ben and Isabelle first met and fell in love. Iggy and Fu-Cha, two teens from the high school tease Tim, among other things, while Fred, the mall manager and cousin of Ben’s, tries to run off the “varmints.” After Tim confronts his father about not taking over the fatherly duties even after retiring, Ben finds ways to spend more time with his son and connect with him with help from the whole cast of characters.

Despite some rather adamant suggestions to make the script dark and twisty and spotlight the three specters from Dickens’ version, Rinear’s rendition stays true to her original intention: “It’s not a new adaptation,” she explains. “I wanted it to be a whole new story that would sound familiar.”

There are no rattling chains, but each incarnation of the “ghosts” are present in the script. Audiences will recognize the names alluding to various characters and some not-so-obvious, very clever nuances that add depth. The action, as one might expect, takes place around the holiday season, but the main character’s isolating obsession is far from money. “The story stands on its own, but there are enough elements from the original incorporated where audiences will recognize it,” Rinear says.

One element she’s still struggling with integrating is Scrooge’s signature phrase, “Bah, Humbug!” While staying in South Jersey between readings, Rinear often walked the beach shouting different possibilities to replace the iconic idiom, but to no avail. She jokes about offering a door prize at the upcoming reading for anyone who can come up with a fitting expression.

Some of the biggest revisions that came out of the first reading included beefing up the roles of the main characters. Isabelle received an added sense of urgency. After hearing the reading of Ben, she looked harder at him to give him more range. She wanted both Ben and Tim to be more wounded so they could help each other heal together.

After the second reading on Sunday, there is a staged reading planned for December when audiences will get to see the script with more action and closer to completion. There are no plans for a full-fledged production, yet, but Rinear hopes if audiences receive it well in December, a local theatre might elect to add it to its season for next year.

The reading of Merry Gentlemen takes place on Sunday, August 10 at 2 p.m. in the Cellar Theater and is open to the public, no tickets required.