[NEohioPAL]Berko review: FORBIDDEN (Red Hen Productions)

[Roy Berko]

Red Hen Theatre tries hard, but stumbles with
‘Forbidden’

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


Theatres often have a specific mission.  Kalliope
Stage does American musicals.  The Jewish Community
Center’s drama program concentrates on plays written
by or about Jews.  Red Hen Productions is this area’s
voice of feminism.  It’s not that other theatres don’t
do feminist plays, but Red Hen dedicates themselves to
this cause.

One of the imperatives of a theatre which wants to
have a voice is not only to have a mission, but to
select plays that are well written and say something,
and then make sure they are well performed. 
Unfortunately for Red Hen, in spite of their best
intentions, ‘FORBIDDEN’ by Pat Rowe fails on two of
these three criteria.  The play does have an
interesting premise which fits into the Red Hen
parameters, but is not well written or staged.

Set in Berlin near the end of World War II, a
relationship develops between Felice and Lily.  One is
Jewish, the other is not.  Erich, Felice’s best friend
and would-be lover, wants her to break for the border
with him.  Felice refuses to leave, supposedly because
of her love for Lily.  Inevitably, their fragile
arrangement cannot withstand the pressure of the
round-ups of Jews and homosexuals.  Felice is taken
off to a camp where she eventually dies.  Lily lives
out her life perpetuating a mental image of their
relationship.

Originally documented by the journalist, Erika
Fischer, in her book ‘AIMEE AND JAGUAR’, the story
later became a German feature film of the same name.  


This is Pat Rowe’s first play.  Her lack of
playwrighting skills shines through.  The script is
fragmented, the transitions between scenes are often
unclear, much of the language is in written form
rather than an oral style, many of the staging
requirements make for a lack of reality, and some of
the dialogue is trite.  

The production itself is also problematic.  Director
Karen Gygli has failed to probe deeply into the
characters and some of the performers have difficulty
developing and maintaining characterizations.  She
also creates problems through questionable staging
decisions.  A picture supposedly of the two women
appears suddenly on the wall of their apartment.  The
picture is obviously not of the two women we have
seen.  In the previous scene, Lily appears on stage in
a white bathing suit, but the picture on the wall has
two women who look nothing like the characters and are
both dressed in black swim wear.  Jews wore the
well-documented yellow star.  In this production the
star was white and suddenly appeared in the last scene
when it had to have been worn by Lily when she was
taken away.  In one scene Felice crosses her fingers
as a sign of good luck.  Jews do not use this gesture
as it is a Christian symbol.   The off-stage voices of
the children and party-goers did not work to create
reality.

As for the acting, Liz Conway is generally effective
as Felice.  In most scenes she develops a consistent
character.   Elizabeth Wood is not as consistent as
Lily.  She often acts, rather than reacts to her
lines, allowing for hollow interpretations.  This is
especially true in the ending scene when she is
supposedly an old lady looking back.  Because of the
structure of the play, the actress is not given time
to make any physical changes through makeup and
clothing.  Quivering hands and trying to create a
crack in the voice do not an old women make.  

Dan Kilbane is believable as Erich, though a little
more emotional strength might convince us of his
ability to live through the round-ups and act as a
member of the resistance.  Heather Peterson and Kevin
Coughlin are acceptable in their multi-roles.

Nicole McLaughlin, portraying Friedl, Lily’s neighbor,
 is much too young for the role. A bad wig and poor
makeup to compensate for her age does not cover up
this miscasting.

The multi-platform set is poorly constructed and aids
in making the action unbelievable.  The lapping
curtains instead of doors is distracting.   

The playbill is excellent, presenting a good
discussion of the play and the playwright as well as a
digest of the Jews in Germany from 1933 to 1942.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Red Hen Productions plays a vital
role in helping keep alive drama related to feminist
traditions.  If they are to be successful, however,
they must pick vehicles that are worth producing and
do so at a higher level than their present staging of
‘FORBIDDEN.’

For tickets to ‘FORBIDDEN,’ which runs through October
23 at Cleveland Black Box theatre, 1210 W. 6th Street,
call 216-556-0910.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
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