Hard to believe that almost 50 years have passed since the publication of Ken Kesey's subversive novel
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1962, followed almost immediately by Dale Wasserman's play adaptation.
Equally hard to fathom that the original role of the anti-hero was played by Kirk Douglas and that Jack Nicolson had him looking
over his shoulder when he re-imagined Randle Patrick McMurphy in the mid 1970s for the movie. So this seldom performed
play, now being staged (to 4/26) at the Roundhouse Theater , Bethesda, MD is sandwiched between two iconic works; which, whether
we like it or not, form our impressions before we hit our seats.
In many respects the play is tamer than the novel
or movie and lacks the continuity that the other versions could explore at length by words and image. The play is more
faithful to the novel with 20 plus parts and three acts - pared down to 15 characters and 2 acts for this present 2 ½
hour production - but this comes at a price: the pace is brisk and the back story may be missed or dropped in the process.
The play comes fully loaded, with characters and themes ready to fire.
The story is in the tradition of the Tall
Tale, so the people and circumstances are wildly exaggerated (and funny) and we have to believe Chief Bromden (played admirably
by Michael Nichols) when he says that the events are true even if they never happened. It also follows the convention
of the outsider who sets the social world he enters askew. McMurphy (played with gusto and excellence by Matthew Detmer)
emerges not so much from a logging camp, as a ranch or oil rig. He is all swagger and aggressively good-natured as he
immediately stakes out his position in the ward. Nurse Ratched (realized by the talented Kathryn Kelley) is harder to
figure, downplayed to a degree. This stands out in a play where all the major parts are overdrawn, but I don't detect
the menace in her characterization. Now you could argue that the subtlety makes the figure that much more frightening,
and I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but for me it diminishes to some degree the dramatic tension.
The
play's themes were developed largely in the 50s and early 60s and concern emasculation: by women chiefly, but also by
men, and always by society. Nurse Ratched has elements of "Momism" as coined by Philip Wylie in his
popular book The Generation of Vipers; and the constraints on the American male and family psyche were examined in
detail by cultural anthropologist Jules Henry (see Pathways to Madness, Culture Against Man) - works that
would be hard to ignore by Kesey - and are reflected in the play. How does it work today? The individual versus society
still resonates as does the relinquishing of freedom to a messianic figure or benevolent organization. The mental and
physical abuse of confined subjects comes across all too well, in effect, torture, and would really pack a wallop if staged
in a prison, somewhat like the lonely holdout for justice does in the 12 Angry Men show recently produced in
a Beirut prison.
For me it was chilling to consider the effective way an inferior group, consciously
or not, uses a much stronger individual to wage their battles by proxy. Also striking was the way in which an otherwise
normal outsider is classified as crazy within the context of a closed community. The Rosenhan study of the 1970s
(Being Sane in Insane Places) involved pseudo patients who checked themselves into psychiatric wards as part of a
study, claiming they heard voices, being classified as schizophrenic. Expectations really do fulfill themselves whether
you are in a ward, job, family, or any social situation where you are different. Look out!
The entire cast's
performance was notable, but not since the Kit Kat Girls bonded in Signature Theater's Cabaret have I seen a
better ensemble effort come from supporting actors - those playing the zany patients. I would especially single out
the fine characterizations of Dale Harding (John Lescault), Martini (Michael Vitali Sazanov), and Scanlon (Jefferson A. Russell).
The design of the set (by Daniel Conway) has a Panopitcon feel with the patient's
every movement and mood monitored from the nurse's station. The lighting (Daniel Maclean Wagner) bores tellingly
through many group scenes, and the sound design (Neil McFadden), equal parts threatening and lulling, is used creatively to
good effect. It is no small feat to stage a production of this magnitude with such a big cast and ambitious design.
And when you consider the predetermined history with which the play must compete, you must tip your hat to the remarkable
direction of Jerry Whiddon.
Sound Check: Reaches very high decibel levels at times
Program
Notes: In need of improvement along dramaturgical lines both in hard copy and online
Applause Meter: 3 1/2
hands: - Recommended for general audiences and members of the acting community
