One Final Production Play - Stuff Happens

[Guest rohale]

It took an Englishman to tackle a subject that has roiled the American social and political landscape since 9/11 and turn it into must-see theater. And it took Gordon Davidson, whose long career was made on drama that's bristling with hot buttons, to bring to this side of the Atlantic Ocean in the good old USA.

 

David Hare's ' Stuff Happens " which debuted at London's National Theatre and made it's US premiere Sunday at the Mark Tauper Forum in Los Angeles. Incidentally it's really the only production play to address the Iraq War and it's genesis seriously and directly ( Tim Robbins " Embedded " is a polemical satire rooted firmly in the traditions of agitprop ). Using public speeches, transcripts of meetings and a few fictionalized in-camera scenes. Hare meticulously chronicles how President George W. Bush and members of his administration built an irresistable momentum towards war. As directed by Davidson, the effect, over three dense and intense hours is grim, revelatory and sometimes darkly hilarious.

 

No matter how you feel about the war, Hare's presentation of statements by Mr Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, then Secretary Of State Colin Powell, National Security Advisor Condelezza Rice, offcourse British Prime Minister Tony Blair, UN weapons inspector Hans Blix and others will leave the audience unsure, at the very least, about the justifications for invading Iraq.

 

Those expecting to see long, involved passages of Bush and Cheney discussing military strategy will be disappointed. Mr Bush is a cipher, letting others do the talking and planning for him. Keith Carradine, he's a man whose silences and short, repetitive statements indicate either a mind made up or a President who never wants to show his hand.

 

The more interesting and imaginatively developed characters are Powell and Blair, in many respects, this is their play. As written by Hare, they are the only two people of influence tyring to derail a headlong march to conflict. Tyrees Allen portrays Powell as a decent but ultimately tragic figure. Torn between his consensus building political instincts and his sense of duty. Allen shows the audience a prowd and passionate man who is gradually done in by the relentless pressure of those who disagree with him. The defeat takes it's toll physically. Mr Allen body language gradually metamorphoses from energetic to subdued.

 

Julian Sands portrayal of Tony Blair is less effective. Tall, blond and gaunt, he makes no attempt to like look Blair, and he was struggling with vocal problems last Sunday. The best aspect to Sands role as Mr Blair was just how adept at demonstrating Blair's extraordinary talents as an articulate moralist and a wily deal-maker. Others leave their mark in this 22-member cast, John Michael Higgins " Rumsfeld is cartoonishly optimistic. Stephen Spinella as French Foreign Minister Dominique De Villepin portrayal is often relaxed and Mr Smooth. Alan Oppenheimer's role of Blix, the only cool-headed one of the bunch. Cast members gather in knots and mingle in different parts of Ming Cho Lee's fluid, minimalist set, which takes up a good portion of the Taper's lower orechestra and suggests many changes of locale with cue of projection are in dire need.

 

The best apect for me about this production is that it epitimizes Davidson's rabble-rousing spirit. During his thirty eight year reign at the Taper's helm. Davidson at his best wore his reformer's heart- and his politics-flamboyantly on his sleeve. Whether an audience member liked his programming of hated it ( and there were a few fence sitters on that subject ). One seldom left a Taper play simply entertained or, worse, bored. " The Trial of the Catonsville Nine ", or even " Zoot Suit ", a favourite for so many " Angels In America ", or even " Twilight - Los Angeles 1992 ". I think of one more " Chavez Ravine ". All these plays under Davidson, the audience were challenged and confronted, had our perceptions poked and our belief systems rattled. Nowadays it seems all too few.

 

" Stuff Happens " is Davidson's last directorial effort as Taper's head. At the end of this season, he will cede control to his successor, Michael Ritchie. Judging from the 2005-06 lineup at the Taper adn the next-door Ahmanson Theatre, the Ritchie Era, for the most part, will emphasize mainstream entertainment over the theatre of meaty issues. Mr Ritchie has every right to put his own stamp and make his mark in theatre.

 

For me, it's bravo to Mr Gordon Davidson for leaving his colours still flying and he will very shortly become a part of theatre's history. I noted last Sunday as I surveyed the audience who were there to witness Davidson's swan song. The gratitude from the audience was absolutely estatic. The standing ovation was something to be remembered for. I hope for Mr Ritchie's sake he ponders Davidson's legacy as well his own for the future.

 

Rohale