The Empire Builders - EncoreMichigan Review - November 2012
The Empire Builders - EncoreMichigan Review - November 2012
The Empire Builders - EncoreMichigan Review - November 2012
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Tuesday Nov 27, <strong>2012</strong><br />
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Puzzling script, Strong Production Continues UDM Season<br />
By Donald V. Calamia<br />
Originally printed 11/15/<strong>2012</strong> (Issue 2046 - Between <strong>The</strong> Lines News)<br />
One of the joys of being a theater critic after more than a decade is having an opportunity to walk into a theater and<br />
experience a decades-old play about which you know nothing. Such was the case with UDM <strong>The</strong>atre Company's<br />
"<strong>The</strong> <strong>Empire</strong> <strong>Builders</strong>," which I attended on its opening night. Except for the production's pedigree - a handful of the<br />
area's top performers, an award-winning alumna who has been making a name for herself as a director in recent<br />
months, and a set and costumes by another longtime favorite - I walked in with few expectations.<br />
Two hours later I walked out with more questions than I had at the beginning - which shouldn't be a surprise after<br />
watching a dark, absurdist comedy. In fact, I'm STILL scratching my head and trying to figure out playwright Boris<br />
Vian's ultimate message. But isn't that what good, invigorating theater is supposed to do: challenge its patrons?<br />
And what a challenge it is!<br />
<strong>The</strong> DuPont family - Father (John M. Manfredi), Mother (Melissa Beckwith) and daughter Zenobia (Michelle Kattula) -<br />
are on the run. From what, we're not sure. But a loud, bone-chilling noise repeatedly sends them and their maid, Mug<br />
(Johnice Littlejohn), packing - moving up one flight of stairs into another (and always smaller) apartment. <strong>The</strong>re they<br />
try to live a quiet life - at least until the noise returns and drives them up the stairs yet again.<br />
Once settled in, a few things become apparent: <strong>The</strong> parents' memories seem to disappear after every flight, and<br />
everyone except the daughter ignores the elephant in the room - the origins and purpose of the noise.<br />
Actually there are TWO elephants in their room. <strong>The</strong> other is a character simply referred to in the program as "<strong>The</strong><br />
Schmurz" (Chris Jakob), a mute, bloodied and heavily bandaged creature who serves primarily as the family's<br />
punching bag. Again, only Zenobia acknowledges its presence, while Mug only beats him when she's ordered to do<br />
so by her bosses.<br />
I don't want to give too much away, but for three acts the family panics, moves, talks and pummels <strong>The</strong> Schmurz.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n, in Act Three, Father finds himself alone in the attic with <strong>The</strong> Schmurz. Here I was expecting a revelation that<br />
would tie the show together and answer the questions I knew everyone in the audience was asking.<br />
But no; that doesn't really happen. Instead, playwright Vian has Father deliver a lengthy monologue that seemingly<br />
goes nowhere and has little relevance to the plot that just unfolded before our eyes.<br />
At least that's what I initially thought.<br />
After much pondering, however, I came to the conclusion that the beauty of Vian's work is how he hides the answer in<br />
plain sight. Written in the 1950s as his commentary on the Nazi occupation of France during World War II, "<strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Empire</strong> <strong>Builders</strong>" is at its core a story about fear and how people react to their fears - real or imagined. Some are<br />
brave, some pretend they are brave, and others succumb to their fears. And despite the period in which it was<br />
written, the play is as timely today as it was a half century ago.<br />
How so? Just look at our recent presidential election. Did America of the 20th century pass away with the re-election<br />
of Barack Obama, as many have asked? Or have we entered a new golden age? Fear mongering was a popular tool<br />
used by both political parties, and the reactions on each side of the aisle in the days leading up to and following the<br />
election seem to confirm the validity of Vian's observations: Some were spurred to action and into the voting booth,<br />
some blissfully ignored the noise swirling around them and went on with their daily lives, while more than a handful<br />
buried their heads in the sand and withdrew from the political process altogether.
Just like the DuPont family did.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re's more to consider, of course, and I challenge you to check out the show and come up with your own<br />
conclusions. But what I do guarantee is a finely staged production with a few knockout performances.<br />
<strong>The</strong> family's glue is Father - and Manfredi has carefully dissected each line of his dialogue to carefully shade his<br />
character's emotional foundation. Although on the surface Father appears to be a professorial blowhard enamored<br />
with himself and his many achievements, Manfredi instead creates a many-layered and deeply conflicted man who is<br />
battling his own demons while trying to put a positive face on the scary situation his family faces. In a tour-de-force<br />
third-act performance, Manfredi storms the stage riding a roller coaster of emotions, with an ending that will either<br />
shock you or make total sense - depending on how you interpret the plot. (I won't reveal my reaction to it.)<br />
Given Manfredi's enormous stage presence, I arrived at the show wondering how Beckwith would fare. Best known<br />
for her considerable body of work at <strong>The</strong> Ringwald <strong>The</strong>atre, I was thrilled to see her stretching her wings elsewhere -<br />
and working side by side with other formidable talent. And it took only seconds into the show to remind us of her<br />
strength and versatility as an actress. For not only does she match the powerful essence Manfredi always brings to<br />
the stage, she also creates a well-conceived counterpoint to his character. Yes, Mother is quieter and a bit haughty<br />
(as you might expect the wife of a man like Father to be), but Beckwith's depiction of a mother trying a bit too hard to<br />
keep her emotions in check for the sake of her family is spot on. (Personally, I'd love to see this duo paired again<br />
sometime in the near future.)<br />
<strong>The</strong> show's other professional actor is UDM <strong>The</strong>atre Company co-founder David L. Regal as the Neighbor, who<br />
makes an appearance in the first act, does his usual fine job, and exits - never to be seen again till the curtain call.<br />
What a way to collect a paycheck, eh?<br />
So what of the student actors? <strong>The</strong> beauty of the UDM <strong>The</strong>atre Company is its mission to toss the theater<br />
department's young students to the wolves - that is, to cast them in roles alongside many of Metro Detroit's finest<br />
working professionals. Sometimes it works better than others, but it's a great way for student thespians to learn the<br />
tricks of their trade from a practical point of view rather than an educational one. And for the most part, the<br />
youngsters in "<strong>The</strong> <strong>Empire</strong> <strong>Builders</strong>" acquit themselves fairly well.<br />
Kattula gets the most face time - that's a pun, actually, but you'll have to see the show to appreciate it - and she's<br />
thoroughly believable as Zenobia. What will serve the character better, though, is for the dialogue in spots to become<br />
a bit more conversational; that will come with time and experience, but on opening night it occasionally sounded like -<br />
well, - chunks of dialogue from a script. (That can be a problem when mixing inexperienced newcomers with longestablished<br />
pros; the differences become readily apparent.)<br />
Littlejohn's Mug is the show's comic relief. Yes, this is a comedy, but one with mostly chuckles rather than out-andout<br />
laughs. Despite the playwright handing her some of the most humorous lines to deliver, many are slightly<br />
underplayed. Personally, I'd like to see her have more fun with them; she has the comic timing, the attitude, and the<br />
size to deliver the cathartic release the audience needs throughout the performance.<br />
That leaves poor Jakob. <strong>The</strong> actor never leaves the stage, delivers no dialogue, and is physically abused for three<br />
fourths of the show. But what an amazing performance he delivers, the result of very tight and controlled body<br />
language, with a stare that could melt the thickest wall of steel. (From where I was sitting, it looked as if Manfredi's<br />
foot connected with Jakob's head early in the first act, and if anyone heard a few gasps, they came from my guest<br />
and I.)<br />
<strong>The</strong> action takes place in three different apartments. As designed by Melinda Pacha, each looks like it had seen<br />
better days - but what caused the decay can't be fathomed, which matches quite well with the author's script. And her<br />
costumes perfectly capture the personalities of their bearers.<br />
All of this comes together quite nicely under the direction of Kate Peckham. An award-winning actress whose career<br />
I've followed since her days at UDM in the early 1990s, Peckham has branched out as a director, having staged<br />
productions at a handful of local theaters. As with her previous efforts, she's done a fine job. She's taken a script with<br />
more questions than answers and given it an intriguing interpretation - one that left me deep in thought for several<br />
hours. And which resulted in a much longer review than I anticipated.<br />
So while I still may not totally understand what Vian's point was, the fun is in the chase. And UDM <strong>The</strong>atre<br />
Company's production certainly gives "<strong>The</strong> <strong>Empire</strong> <strong>Builders</strong>" an adventure worth checking out!<br />
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