Even in Arcadia, I Am

Some recent current events got me to thinking again about Arena Stage's production of Arcadia by Tom Stoppard in December 1996 - January 1997. I was able to see the process in its entirety - from first read-through and the 6-week rehearsal to opening night and beyond - by winning a bid on a silent auction. Back then the Arena and the district were accessible in ways it is now hard to imagine and I was able to get in before the door slammed shut.

This was a memorable production for a number of reasons, some artistic, some extracurricular. The director, Doug Wager, got things off to a rollicking start by publicly confirming reports in the local media that he was resigning as artistic director. By now, Washington baseball fans are well acquainted with the situation of a team manager not having the support of the "ownership" [in this case, the Board of Directors] and having to serve until someone else is found. Back then, though, it was a bit of a bombshell, in part, because everyone concerned was "making nice." But privately Doug was unhappy and as I was to find out in offhand comments (made to all of us) a lot of it had to do with programming being compelled from above, deteriorating conditions of the theaters, break-up of the repertory system from which a loyal audience base in maintained, and of course, good old politics.

Then there was the presence of Christina Haag, who recently had been involved with John F. Kennedy, Jr. At the time, I heard that she had dated him. But it wasn't until her memoir Come to the Edge was published earlier this year that I learned the extent of it. Christina, who played schoolmarmish Hannah, was a lovely individual, friendly and thoughtful, but frank. When I told her I had seen Blair Brown in the same role on Broadway, she said she had too and had not liked it. Ms. Brown gave a more matronly and whimsical portrayal, as I recall, than her own, which was arch and direct. If Christina was miscast in any way it was in the looks department: she was a knockout. But during rehearsal she was a trooper and delivered an outstanding performance. She must have liked it too since I got a couple of hugs from her - my wife got one too - at the cast party.

In 1996, Holly Twyford was just coming into her own as an actress and played the role of Chloe [13 years later she would perform the part of Hannah at the Folger], but even then she had her signature feistiness. "Who are you?" she asked me during a break. Holly had an accident during the run and her understudy, Mary Teresa Fortuna had to step in at the very last moment (really!) with remarkable results, considering the assistant stage manager ran lines with her and worked through the blocking while she had her hair done and costume checked. Nancy Robinette, now the Grand Dame of DC-area Theater was also, believe it or not, an understudy for Hannah, as well as Lady Croom played by Tana Hicken. Both actresses offer interesting contrasts and I got my first glimpse of an actor hiding behind a character. Both are quirky and extroverted on stage, but in one-on-one conversations they come across as shy. Nancy is friendly and forthcoming though, whereas Tana is extremely reserved, almost guarded.

In no condition to talk - indeed he rested as much as possible - was Richard Bauer [he died of leukemia in 1999]. I wanted to tell him how much I enjoyed his work, but was reluctant to invade his space, which he clearly needed. He also required the assistance of an understudy, the already established David Fendig. David Marks, who played the comic Ezra Chater, is also no longer with us. Mr. Marks kept his fellow actors in stitches clowning around during rehearsal trade-offs. This was another big lesson I learned. A life in the theater is just like the military - a lot of hurrying up and much, much waiting. Doug was working the alternative time sequences separately early in the process, though when he combined them, the choreography in the tight set was really something to see. Ralph Cosham was delightful at all times even while he was looking at heart surgery shortly after the run. He had just come off Henry VI, which I hadn't seen, and he replied "Then you missed a great show." [He's right, I did.] Born in the U.K. he said later that actors there who were not in the second act, did not have to take a curtain call: they could go home.

Doug gave a clear overview of how he saw the play and what he wanted from the company - actors, design team, and production crew. He described the intellectual landscape of the play as a detective story with a philosophic basis, though it was "serenely inconclusive" and "maddeningly funny," a world where "ideas never die." Desire was the heat engine that drove the life force of the characters, each of which has a misdirected desire that is sublimated. He sought to "make the riddle clear." His approach was professorial - academic - with suggested reading assignments - Gleick's book on Chaos - to inform the cast about the science and the possibility of simultaneous worlds. He even arranged for a member of the National Science Foundation to come in and talk about the mathematical underpinnings of the play. So it was no surprise that ultimately he would end up at Temple University as the Artistic Director.

Since the director saw the play's two time frames as presenting "dualing dialects" (pun intended), Sarah Felder, the voice and speech consultant had her work cut out for her. There were issues of class as well as region along with the change in centuries to deal with. I asked her about the actor's ability to handle accents. She said it was just like anything else, talent for instance. Some had it naturally and others didn't and had to work harder. I thought Wendy Hoopes who played the precocious Thomasina had it, along with the requisite verbal gymnastics through which she had to glide, as did Terrence Caza as Bernard.

Much time and effort was spent on the turtle prop controlled by J. Paul Boehmer as Septimus and Alex Draper as Valentine in their respective time periods. There was talk of getting a mechanical tortoise - a remotely controlled device - but the potential for a mishap was thought to be too great. Mr. Draper developed a fondness for the prop it seemed, perhaps as an extension of his character. During tech week the turtle got as much attention as the lighting and sound.

I was able to see some customs in action. Theater has a long tradition of mentoring the newly initiated. Mr. Wager spent a great deal of time with his assistant director, and there were various interns about, as well as understudies, visitors, and one observer, all getting an on-the-job education, many (including yours truly) from the ground up. The pros were unstintingly helpful in their advice and comments. Getting a play on its feet is an extremely collaborative effort, a topic that Doug was keen to acknowledge. He himself had come up through the ranks as a backstage intern, so he was aware of the contribution of all phases of the production process and repeatedly thanked everyone for their efforts. As a government worker, where "No" is the norm, it is an eye-opener to see an affirmative group of individuals working to make the director's vision possible and the show a success.

Getting past tech week - after the rehearsal process is broken down only to be put back together again - there is first a sense, then a need for that missing piece of the puzzle: an audience. Because this play is a comedy, the actors need people in the seats to get their timing down. Following a tech/dress rehearsal, Mr. Wager declared he was pleased with the outcome and said "it's in the hands of the gods." With Arcadia, Arena Stage had "the second highest advance of a straight play since The Price [by Arthur Miller] and they should do great "if they can just keep the critics out." Alas, that was not to be.

Despite some final glitches in the ending, which would require re-teching, it was to be showtime and on to opening night. And what a transformation it was! From my standpoint, it was everything I hoped it would be. The audience got the complexity as well as the comedy of the play. And as the play passed from the lighthearted first act to the tragic second, a formal quality - ahistorical, transcending time - revealed itself in the dance, for "there is only the dance" as T.S. Eliot notes. It was really a magical moment.

While the play had a very healthy run - I caught a few additional performances, one right at closing - one critic in particular, Lloyd Rose of The Washington Post, seemed to feel the entropic world of the play had gone cool with this production. The play garnered three Helen Hayes Awards nominations - For Doug as Outstanding Director, for Tana as Supporting Actress, and for Resident Play - but received no awards. So why did such an outstanding show come up short? A key reason I believe was in the staging. Arcadia was performed as theater-in-the-round, at the Fichandler. Many people expect a lavish set - especially for this kind of play - and are not willing to accept the constant movement of the actors and loss of sound quality in return for the intimacy of the theatrical experience. I think too that the proximity to the Broadway production in time and place worked against it. It had been done only a few years before and the memory of that play, which was indeed lavishly mounted at the Lincoln Center, and the reviews it received were still fresh. Also the casting, while generally excellent, incorporated too many unknown names for DC-area theatergoers; and there were no marquee names to generate enthusiasm.

It was also the kind of play for which the audience was not quite ready. Notions of complexity, chaos, and alternate worlds - almost commonplace today - had not been assimilated into the general culture. So today if you hear of Arcadia at all around here - if it's not for the current New York revival which won this year's Tony Award - it will be for the fine Folger Theatre production (2009) of Aaron Posner el al. But back then it was a bright, shining moment for the Arena Stage and DC theater history which paved the way for greater things to come.