WATCH ON THE RHINE
Watch on the Rhine
New York Calling
William Wolf
October 18, 2005
The Actor?s Company Theatre (TACT) has given many fine reading performances of important plays, but I can?t think of any that moved me more than its presentation (Oct. 15-17, 2005) of Lillian Hellman?s 1941 hit ?Watch on the Rhine.? Although the anti-fascist drama was geared to the menace of Nazi Germany, it still communicates relevance because following one?s conscience, fighting against evil and longing for a world without killing remain primary issues in our new century.
Apart from the play?s point of view, it works so well because Hellman created stirring drama with strong characterizations and emotional impact. TACT?s staging is so brilliantly effective that it seems like a full-fledged work, not a reading. This is a result of a super cast and intelligent, tightly-focused direction by Scott Alan Evans, as well as the impact of the play itself.
For those who don?t know or remember ?Watch on the Rhine?, or its subsequent film version, the drama is set in Washington, D.C. in 1940 in a country house, where a major confrontation arises between an underground fighter against the Nazis, who is visiting from Europe, and a desperate foreigner who knows his identity and threatens to inform on him. All of this takes place against a family backdrop.
The driving force in the house is Fanny Farrelly, a widow, given a marvelous portrayal by Cynthia Harris in a role that she understands and devours. Fanny is dynamic, demanding to the point where she can be annoying to others, but always a colorful lady. She is nervous because her daughter, Sara Mueller is arriving after a long absence, together with her husband Kurt, who, we and Fanny learn, is the activist who must return to Germany and continue his dangerous fight against Nazism. Harris looks glamorous and is magnificent in conveying the various sides of Fanny and making us believe in her transformation into a woman who feels she must support Muller?s cause no matter the consequences. It is a performance to remember.
As Mueller, Daniel Oreskes draws a portrait of a steady, firm character with humility to match his stalwartness, a man who knows the risks and the possibility of death, but, given his principles, he sees no other course. The effect is quietly powerful and works all the more so in contrast to behavior of the villain who threatens him. Teck De Brancovis, who along with his wife, is a visitor in the Farrelly household, is played with arrogance, but not clich?d arrogance, by Terry Layman in another strong performance. Hellman?s play builds the tension into the ultimate confrontation we know must come, but when it does it still shocks.
Francesca Di Mauro is lovely and touching as Mueller?s wife, who knows the danger and stands firm with him, as well as helping him communicate love for their three children, portrayed with charm by Leah Morales, Travis Walters and the especially endearing young Sean J. Moran.
There are other good performances? the entire cast is first rate?by Margaret Nichols as Marthe, De Brancovis? wife, who is in the process of escaping from his clutches after being fed up in their marriage; by Kyle Fabel as David Farrelly, Fanny?s son, who must rise to the occasion when the chips are down, and by Scott Schafer and Darrie Lawrence in supporting household roles.
Hellman?s work is quite amazing. By the time the play moves smoothly toward its third act climax, it has become hear-a-pin-drop engrossing, and when Mueller sits down with his children to leave them with final words and the assurance of his love, and bids goodbye to his wife with restraint that masks his feelings that are well understood by her without further expression, it is time to reach for a handkerchief or tissue. It?s also time to think about what?s missing in our country today.
The cast has extracted the meaning and emotion of Hellman?s play in this reading format, and it lives again all these years later. If ever a work merited more performances and a move for a longer run this is it. Reviewed at the Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street. Other TACT presentations coming in its 2005-06 season include ?He and She? by Rachel Crothers (Nov. 19-21), ?Both Your Houses? by Maxwell Anderson (March 11-13) and ?The Hot L Baltimore? by Lanford Wilson (May 6-8). For information: 212-645-8228)