Photo: Joe Mazza, Brave Lux
Despite levying criticisms at both sides of the capitalist/socialist divide, Eugene O’Neill’s 1922 play “The Hairy Ape” teems with Marxist zeal. One wonders what O’Neill’s anti-hero Yank would think of a presidential election cycle where a self-declared democratic socialist is challenging the advancing plutocratic influence in America. Oracle Theatre’s new interpretation folds in race with O’Neill’s classist concerns. In doing so, the production shines a spotlight on glaring fissures in the landscape of equality while inadvertently illuminating some gaps in its own beliefs.
Oracle has been very forthcoming about director Monty Cole’s decision to use an all-black, all-male cast for this production. Cole is a good fit for Oracle as he is overflowing with visual and thematic ideas. Despite being an intensely energetic, highly choreographed production that makes extended use of its utilitarian set (Eleanor Kahn), “The Hairy Ape” nevertheless lacks coherence between its various components. The performance glue that might hold these disparate elements together is also conspicuously absent. Setting aside the authenticity of Yank’s urban drawl, at times it is impossible to understand Julian Parker, a shortcoming that obscures many pivotal scenes.
The decision not to cast any women, while perhaps financially sound, represents a critical erasure. What we are presented with is a parody of womanhood: Tony Santiago with a scarf and a bow. The women we do meet in “The Hairy Ape” are not meant to be likable—one might effectively argue that likability here is a moot point—but their presence, especially in the cutting scene between would-be do-gooder Mildred and her aunt, is meant to reveal a unique way that privilege manifests itself. Instead, the scene feels like little more than an offhanded break from the abundant amount of time we spend with the men of the stokehole.
With allusions to police brutality and the use of incarceration as a knee-jerk reaction to otherness, this production pushes O’Neill’s expressionism toward a kind of subjective realism. This tactic is the production’s greatest strength and produces its most affecting moments.
For its inconsistencies, “The Hairy Ape” does fully grasp the tragedy of the American dream: the king of the corner is a peasant of the precinct. (Kevin Greene)
Oracle Theatre, 3809 North Broadway, publicaccesstheatre.org, free but reservation required. Through March 12.
Related Stories
Impressive Arrival: A Review of Yerma at Theatre Y and Red Tape Theatre This co-production with Red Tape Theatre marks a mature and invigorating new phase for Theatre Y.- Good History: A Review of A Home on the Lake at Piven Theatre Workshop and Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre Piven Theatre Workshop and Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre co-produce this place-based world premiere about Evanston's racially-charged history.
- A Long Time Coming: A Review of Caroline, Or Change at Firebrand Theatre & TimeLine Theatre Company Firebrand Theatre and TimeLine Theatre Company co-produce this stirring revival with book and lyrics by Tony Kushner and music by Jeanine Tesori.
- Once Again And Better Than Ever: A Review of Once at Paramount Theatre The Tony Award-winning musical gets its regional premiere at Paramount Theatre in Aurora.
- Them/Us/All: A Review of Self-Accusation at Theatre Y Beyond the window, the show is happening.
- Nearly But Not Quite: A Review of She Loves Me at Marriott Theatre Miklós László's play “Parfumerie” continues to give birth to charming, heartfelt comedies where the leading characters are of an everyman quality, allowing audiences from the multiple social strata of life to see a reflection of themselves as the leading lady and man fall in love with each other, despite obstacles presented by fate and the miscalculation and manipulation of others,…
