Perhaps I should back up. “One Flew” focuses on the antics of the rebellious Randle Patrick McMurphy, a happy-go-lucky transferee from a prison work farm to a mental hospital. Having been found guilty on a battery charge, McMurphy fakes insanity to serve out his sentence in the hospital. This particular ward of the hospital is run by the buttoned-up, tyrannical Nurse Ratched and her three black orderlies. The ward consists of a variety of patients: Chief Bromden, a large silent Native American who appears to be deaf and dumb, but really hates himself; Dale Harding, the president of the patients; Billy Bibbit, a young man who lives in fear of his mother; Charles A. Cheswick III, a loud patient; Frank Scanlon, who loves explosives; Anthony Martini, who loves explosives; and Mr. Ruckly, the silent post-lobotomy patient. After arriving, McMurphy constantly antagonizes Nurse Ratched, upsets the routines, and incites the patients. Betting on himself, McMurphy tries and fails to lift a heavy electrical control box. He runs a card table, captains the ward’s basketball team, comments on Nurse Ratched’s figure, incites the other patients on the ward to conduct a vote on watching the World Series on television, and plans for a patient party. The Chief, opening up to McMurphy due to the latter’s rebellion, reveals late one night that he can speak and hear. McMurphy presents a discipline problem and challenge to Nurse Ratched’s authority, and the two become engaged in a power struggle. A disturbance after the World Series results in McMurphy and the Chief being sent for electroshock therapy sessions, but even this experience does little to tamp down McMurphy’s rambunctious behavior. One night, after bribing the night orderly, McMurphy breaks into the pharmacy and smuggles bottles of liquor and two prostitute girlfriends onto the ward. McMurphy persuades one of the women to seduce Billy Bibbit, so that he can lose his virginity. Nurse Ratched interrups the party, and the play then runs to its conclusion (which I won’t reveal, although you can search it out).
Good plays are plays that demonstrate growth in their characters during the progress of these play. The lack of this growth is why many plays, and most jukebox musicals, are unsatisfying. In this play, we see significant growth, but not from the main characters. McMurphy comes in an antagonizing agent, and attempts to remain that way throughout the play. Ratched comes in a power authoritarian figure, and remains that way until the end. However, what we see is the effect of these two catalysts on the patients. We see how McMurphy’s energy and rebellions revitalizes the patients, and how Ratched’s authority beats them down. In particular, we see significant growth in Hardin, Bibbit, Cheswick, and Chief Bromden). Is this a metaphor for the youth generation (the story was written by Ken Kesey in 1959, the play was adapted from the story by Dale Wasserman in 1963, and the Oscar-winning movie version was relelased in 1975). Is this telling us the importance of rebellion against authority in our lives? Certainly it is demonstrating that we shoudn’t go meekly into that night, and those who appear crazy around us might actually be the sanest individuals.
Now, at the start of this review, I indicated it made me see “O”, the artistic director, in a new light. That’s because Ovington Michael Owston (known to his friends as “O”) , who is the artistic director of the REP, also played Randle P. McMurphy, . “O” played crazy to such perfection you might think he was crazy in real life (but trust me, we know him, and he isn’t… at least we think he isn’t). Seriously, “O” was excellent as McMurphy and came across perfectly as an unpredictable loose cannon in the ward, and you didn’t know whether he was crazy, or it was all just an act (and after that towel scene, you’ll definately see him in a new light).
Battling McMurphy was Laura Clark Greaver as Nurse Ratched. A small women, she just exuded power from her performance, and was an able match for McMurphy’s craziness. The two made an interesting team.
The remainder of the ward consisted of the following folks, all of whom gave excellent performances. As Chief Bromden, Michael Bruce (who we last saw as Lenny in Of Mice and Men) gave a great strong and silent performance, except when his rage overtook him. His character was one who saw the most growth, and Michael portrayed it well. Jeff Harman as Dale Harding, the President of the Patient’s Council, also exhibited great character growth, and I loved his calming persona. Anderson Reid as Billy Bibbit, the vulnerable stutterer, also inhabited the character and ran with it. Others in the ward included Brad Sergiæ (Charles A. Cheswick III), Skip Pipo (Frank Scanlon), Jeff Lucas (Anthony Martini), and Dave Forster (Mr. Ruckley).
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Turning to the hospital supporting staff, which had much smaller roles, we had Gregor Mannsæ as Aide Williams, Eric Bush as Aide Warren, Tyrone “Tippy” Washington as Aide Turkle (although the program lists him as Steve Hubbell, a character he played in a past show), Amber Van Loon as Nurse Flinn, and Jymn Magon as Dr. Spivey. Rounding out the cast were Ryann Turner as Candy Starr, Hilary Barraford as Sandra.
The production was directed by Mikee Schwinn, who did an excellent job in bringing out the craziness in his actors. But I mean that in a good way.
I’m always amazed at what the REP does with its small black-box space. This time, Jeff Hyde turned the REP stage into the asylum, with hulking electrical boxes, a full bathroom, an aged nurse’s station, and in general the look of a worn dayroom. The lighting by Tim Christianson was remarkable: a mixture of stage lighting, realistic lighting, and stuff you can’t even name that created the effective mood. Nanook Burkholder, the regular sound designer, dug into his back of sounds for excellent effects including transformer hums, relay thumps, and stuff I can’t even name. This was an excellent technical team, all overseen by Johnny Schwinn, the stage manager.
“One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” continues through April 11th. Tickets are available through the REP website, Goldstar Events, and LAStageTix… although get your tickets quickly, the show is rapidly selling out.
Upcoming Theatre: Our next production is April 4 @ 2pm, when we see “42nd Street” at Cabrillo Music Theatre. April 18 @ 8pm, after I take the CISSP exam, will be “Mauritius” at the Pasadena Playhouse. The weekend of April 25/26 is set aside for the Southern California Renaissance Faire and possibly the OERM Spring Railfestival. May 2 or 3 (pending ticketing) will hopefully be “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Theatre League Thousand Oaks (this is their last weekend). May 10 (pending ticketing) should be “Is He Dead? at ICT Long Beach. May 17 (again, pending ticketing) should be “big” at West Coast Ensemble, to be followed by “The Green Room at Hermosa Beach Playhouse on May 24 (pending ticketing). The end of May (May 28, 29, 30) brings “Fiddler on the Roof” at Nobel Middle School, where nsshere is doing the lighting design. On June 6 @ 8pm we’re scheduled for “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at Repertory East Playhouse, but since we saw that when they did it two years ago, we’re likely to switch to “Fat Pig” in their “81 series”. Lastly, June 20 @ 8pm is “The Little Foxes” at The Pasadena Playhouse. We might also explore “Little Woman: The Musical” at the Lyric Theatre (3/19 – 4/26), depending on whether it fits into the schedule (and I note they are doing “Once Upon a Mattress afterwards (5/14-6/21)). Quite an ambitious theatrical spring.
