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Faust in Love
by Les Gutman
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[W]hy have you chained me to this foul companion, who feeds on suffering and hungers for destruction? ---Faust |
 D. Greenspan, G. Hannah and E. Wong (Photo: Paula Court)
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It picks up where last season's These Very Serious Jokes ended -- as Faust (now George Hannah) spots Gretchen (now Eunice Wong) on the street, and demands that Mephistopheles (again David Greenspan) aid him in "getting the girl". Faust indeed "gets" her, only to lose her, as the section concludes, at Death's door.
While this installment remains faithful to the story, it nonetheless manages to lose its way. Stylistically, it sheds many of the conventions of These Very Serious Jokes, yet it fails to find new ones: what's on display lacks consistency, and what we think of as Target Margin's prevailing sensibility is only fleetingly in evidence. When doing its best work, this company bears a strong imprint from its talented Artistic Director, David Herkovits. This time, there seems to be a very long tether.
One simple explanation of what is missing here is that the cast is populated with actors who, however good, are, with one exception, not Target Margin company members. That exception is Nicole Halmos, who plays Gretchen's neighbor and friend, Martha, and whose performance (think Flatbush housewife) is the only one that harkens back to the style for which Target Margin is known. David Greenspan is (as he was in the earlier installment) terrifically entertaining, but his performance follows the pattern of his own unique style. Similarly, George Hannah, though less well known, arrives in this production with what is clearly his own shtick, whereas Eunice Wong portrays Gretchen in a serviceable albeit unremarkable manner. Ditto for Kendra Ware and Wayne Alon Scott, who play lesser characters well but without special distinction.
The show's design elements also seem uneven. The sets (designed by Carol Bailey and Susan Barras) make excellent use of the Ohio Theatre's deep playing area (as contrasted with the especially shallow space at HERE where These Very Serious Jokes was staged), but is otherwise a very home-grown looking effort. The same is true of Kate Voyce's costumes. Yet Lenore Doxsee's lighting is quite sophisticated, as is John Collins sound design. And none of these designs bear the impishness we have come to expect of this theater.
All is not lost, of course. We will have to await the final installment to see the direction this huge project takes; perhaps it will be reconciled and righted by the time the promised marathon of the entire piece is presented at Classic Stage Company in 2006.
LINK TO PREVIOUS INSTALLMENT
These Very Serious Jokes
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Faust in Love Based on Goethe's Faust as translated (and adapted) by Douglas Langworthy Directed by David Herskovits with David Greenspan, Nicole Halmos, George Hannah, Wayne Alon Scott, Kendra Ware, and Eunice Wong Set Design: Carol Bailey and Susan Barras Lighting Design: Lenore Doxsee Costume Design: Kaye Voyce Sound Consultant: John Collins Original Songs by John King Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes with no intermission A production of Target Margin Theater Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street, (Spring/Broome) Telephone: (212) 358-3657 WED-SAT @8, SAT @4 and MON @7 (3/21, 4/11, 4/18 & 4/25); $20 Opening March 23, 2005, closing April 30, 2005 Reviewed by Les Gutman based on 3/18/05 performance |
Easy-on-the budget super gift for yourself and your musical loving friends. Tons of gorgeous pictures.
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
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Our Review
At This Theater
Leonard Maltin's 2005 Movie Guide
Ridiculous!The Theatrical Life & Times of Charles Ludlam
6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor.
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