[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE HISTORY BOYS (Beck)

[Roy Berko]

‘HISTORY BOYS’ gets an A at Beck

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
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--COOLCLEVELAND.COM--


Snow wiped out the first two performances of ‘THE
HISTORY BOYS’ at Beck Center, but when the curtain
finally went up for Alan Bennett’s six-time Tony Award
winning play, the audience quickly knew that it was
worth slogging through the snow.

As one British reviewer stated about the play in its
initial performance, “If I had to single out the
season's most intelligent, exhilarating evening of
theater, Alan Bennett's idea and humor rich play would
win hands down.”  I tend to agree with him.

The setting, a grammar school in England during the
1980s.  Grammar school in Britain is the equivalent of
U.S. public high schools.  The students, like American
seniors are concerned about getting into a prestigious
university.  The question arises, at what cost?

The story follows a group of male students who are
being prepared for their Oxford entrance exams by
three teachers  each with contrasting styles.   Irwin,
a young hotshot, teaches the essay style of
generalities flavored with some facts and quotes.  He
basically believes the truth is irrelevant.  It
parallels the way the author, himself, learned to
prepare.  Hector, a senior member of the faculty,
teaches knowledge with a bent toward English
Literature with an eye on on a well-rounded education.
 Exams are the enemy of all that he stands for.  Mrs.
Lintott has taught the boys the basics of history and
is unconcerned about the approach of their writing,
only that they know history.

The play blends both comedy and tragedy, with multiple
layers and themes, including the subtleties of growing
up, the purposes of education, teaching philosophies,
homosexuality, and the English education system. 

The play opened in London in 2004 in a limited
engagement and played to sold out audiences.  It
reopened in 2005, again to packed houses.   It came to
Broadway in 2006 and swept the Tony Awards.  The
script was transformed into a movie which featured the
original stage cast.

Just as American scripts are often hard for the
English to produce, British material is difficult for
American actors and directors.  Not only are the
accents daunting, but the tone and pacing of the
material is often hard to develop.  

Director Sarah May grasps the underbelly of the play
and has worked with the actors to develop clear and
consistent characters.  Whether they are speaking,
being “other” students in the classroom, or
interacting with each other, the boys uniformly
develop individual personalities.  The pacing is
appropriate, the conflicts well pitched, the humor
nicely developed.

Dana Hart (Hector) and Dan Folino (Irwin) are
excellent as the teachers with conflicting views of
the world of education.  As with the students, they
develop clear and consistent characterizations.  Dede
Klein (Mrs. Lintott) is excellent as the fulcrum
between the opposing forces of her fellow faculty
members.  Michael Regnier perfectly portrays Felix
Armstrong, as the up-tight Headmaster.

All of the students deserve hurrahs.  Matthew Martin
Thomas is impressive as Posner, who undersized, Jewish
and gay and in search of self-identity.  Stuart
Hoffman (Rudge) continually looks like he is
appropriately in a state of confusion as the “dumb”
jock.   Adam Day Howard effectively develops Scripps,
the pianist and religious moralist.  Eric Fancher is
totally believable as Dakin, the charismatic, sexual
mastermind of the group, who uses his powers to
overwhelm his classmates, the young female school
secretary, as well as the occasional teacher.

There is an excellent attention to detail in the
production that is reflected not only in the
performances but in Trad A. Burns’ set and lighting.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   Beck’s ‘THE HISTORY BOYS’ is one
of those productions that must be seen.  Do so before
it becomes history on March 30.
	
For ticket information call 216-521-2540.  

Beck’s production of ‘THE BREAKUP NOTEBOOK:  THE
LESBIAN MUSICAL,’ continues through March 22.  There
are rumors that the production is going to be extended
due to audience response.  It’s well worth seeing!





Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


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