[NEohioPAL] Review of "The Elephant Man" at Summer Stages

[Bob Abelman]

Production of 'The Elephant Man' Exquisitely Beautiful

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald 7/16/10

 

The elephant in the room during every production of The Elephant Man is whether the title character's extreme physical deformity can be convincingly portrayed using only voice and body language, as the playwright requests.  No makeup. No prosthetics. No stage magic.

 

In the Summer Stages' production, which opened last week at the Factory Theater in downtown Cleveland, this challenge belongs to actor Eric Perusek.

 

Early in the play, when we are first introduced to John Merrick, his grotesqueness is put on display before a panel of Victorian physicians.  As each biological abnormality is itemized with British precision and described in clinical detail, Perusek's exposed and perfectly normal physique slowly absorbs and painstakingly adopts each abominable anomaly.  Before our eyes he becomes the Elephant Man.

 

The dramatic impact of this remarkable and complete transformation is bested only by Perusek's ability to sustain this agonizing posture for the duration of the evening while simultaneously communicating Merrick's intelligence, gentility and perspective.

 

This singular performance is reflective of the sustained excellence that has become the trademark of Cleveland State University's four year old professional summer theater repertory program.

 

Bernard Pomerance's Tony Award-winning Dickensian drama is based on the true life story of a young man who, in the late-19th century, goes from being a freak show attraction to the protected ward of a London Hospital.

 

Under the supervision and best intentions of Dr. Frederick Treves, played with passion and precision by Geoff Knox, Merrick finds a more dignified but similarly tragic and controlled existence.  He goes from being a social outcast to a high society curiosity, admired for his God-given internal beauty by the wealthy and the aristocracy whose store-bought allure merely runs skin deep.

 

The play's dialogue is often lyrical and an absolute pleasure to listen to, complemented by live cello music performed by Maake Harding between scenes.  Occasionally, the verbiage ventures into the synthetic realms of over sentimentality and melodrama, as when Merrick suggests that ''my head is so big because it is full of dreams.''  However, Perusek as Merrick and Knox as Treves handle this with grace and charm.

 

The play also offers rather heavy-handed social commentary, such as when Merrick grows increasingly ill as he becomes progressively socialized.  This is nicely managed with understatement by director Everett Quinton, who has created just the right tone and the proper pace for this production.

 

The Elephant Man is told through a series of brief and poignant vignettes, which chronicle key moments in Merrick's life.  Russ Borski's sparse set, divided into three sections that constitute Merrick's parlor, bedroom and the doctor's office, facilitates the impression that each scene is the equivalent of the audience peeking through the divides in a filthy sideshow tent curtain, capturing glimpses of the different human atrocities on display.  

 

Superb performances by the play's leads are matched by the other players, including Tom Woodward as Merrick's carnie handler, George Roth as the hospital administrator who serves as Dr. Treves' handler, and Ursula Cataan as Mrs. Kendall, the theater diva who befriends Merrick.

 

The most touching moment in the play-a play saturated with such moments-comes at the end of Act I when the beauty and the beast dare to touch hands, introducing Merrick to his first taste of gentility and femininity.

 

This is a gripping play, an engrossing production, and the first in a series of three offerings in repertory over the next five weeks.   Summer Stages is off to a very good start.

 

The Elephant Man, the musical Curtains and the comedy Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad, continue in repertory through August 5 at the Factory Theater on East 24th Street in downtown Cleveland.  For tickets, $10 to $15, call 216-687-2109 or visit http://csu.ticketleap.com.  

 
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