[NEohioPAL] Review of "East of Eden" at Ensemble Theatre

[Bob Abelman]

‘East of Eden’ goes south at Ensemble Theatre



Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, American Theatre Critics Association



“If John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ is epic then his ‘East of Eden’ is mythic.” 



So says Frank Galati in a 2015 interview with the Chicago Tribune when asked about the author’s most popular novel versus his most ambitious one, which Galati adapted for Steppenwolf Theatre’s world premiere production and services Ensemble Theatre’s current staging.  



“‘East of Eden’ surely is the more challenging of the two narratives when it comes to dramatization,” he added. “Its emotional demands are more complicated, internalized, intense.”



Complicated, internalized and intense are exactly what is missing from Ensemble’s production of the play, resulting in a valiant but largely ineffective effort under Ian Wolfgang Hinz’s direction.



For more of this article, go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/
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