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| Thursday, February 7, 2008 01:00 PM |
| On the Stage: Wittenberg |
 by Fëanor |
A few nights ago poppy and I caught a performance of the play Wittenberg in its world premiere run at the Arden Theatre in Philly. Playwright David Davalos based the play's concept on the fact that its three central characters - Shakespeare's Hamlet, Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, and the historical Martin Luther - had all been in Wittenberg at one point or another. But he takes things a step further and imagines what would have happened if they'd actually all been there at the same time, with Faustus and Luther as professors and Hamlet as their student. We meet all the characters just before their most famous exploits - Faustus has yet to make his deal with the devil, Luther has yet to write his 95 Theses, and Hamlet's father has yet to be murdered. But already Faustus is seeking knowledge with a dangerous hunger; already Luther is plagued by doubts about the Church, the Pope, and the practice of Indulgences; and already Hamlet is troubled by indecision, and by nightmares and visions about his mother and father. Hamlet seeks respite from Faustus and Luther, but only finds himself more confused, as Faustus recommends drugs and the freedom that comes with doubting everything, while Luther recommends giving his life over to the certainty of faith. Meanwhile, a love affair, the last secret work of Copernicus, and a Papal bull give Faustus and Luther their own crises to deal with.
All of which sounds very heavy and intellectual - and indeed I was afraid going in that the play would be pretentious, melodramatic, and dull. Instead, it's actually incredibly brilliant, very fast-paced, and extremely funny. The play is absolutely loaded from top to bottom with wit and wordplay. I will even do it the supreme compliment of comparing it to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which it resembles in both concept and execution. Although Davalos sticks to Shakespearean blank verse for most of Hamlet's dialogue, Faustus and Martin speak in a very modern tongue, and many clever and funny contemporary pop culture references have been worked into the script throughout. Faustus even has a regular gig down at the local bar - the Bung Hole - where he sings songs like The Who's "The Seeker" and accompanies himself on guitar.
All of the acting is quite good, but Scott Greer as the dynamic, sarcastic Faustus and Greg Wood as the smart, deep-feeling Luther deserve special commendation; they're just wonderful. Greer might want to practice his guitar-playing a bit more, but otherwise he's perfect. We get to watch a couple of lectures by both characters, and while the idea of watching a school room lecture doesn't sound appealing, both men are such good speakers, with such well-written speeches, that those sequences are some of the true highlights of the play. Another highlight is Hamlet's tennis match. Shawn Fagan's performance as Hamlet is probably one of the play's few weak points, but it's certainly not terrible, and he's particularly loose and funny in this very physical but also very witty sequence.
I should also mention that, although the play is almost entirely about men and their thoughts and philosophies, Kate Udall does an impressive job playing every single one of the handful of female parts in the play. Her characterization of Faustus' ex-nun lover is particularly good, and the sequence featuring that character is very real and moving.
Really, the play pushes all my buttons. It prominently features the character and story of Hamlet; it's postmodern; it's got tons of wordplay; it's all about philosophies and ideas; and it's even got a couple of songs in it that I really like. There was almost no way I could not like it. But it certainly helps that it's extremely well written, very thoughtful and wise, very funny, and very moving. It's running through March 16th, and if you get a chance, definitely get out to see it (especially if you're Peccable; this thing was practically written for you, man. Also, he really plays the guitar). |
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