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review A drag queen barks on all fours for a sip of whiskey. An actor, dying of an unnamed illness, labors to remember the poem that liberated his soul. A gambler goes ballistic at the gap between his desperate life and American wealth. A teenage runaway trades dignity for prostitution. An immigrant prays for deliverance from the nightmare around him. And a fat cat landlord comes by to spit at the peoples’ dreams. Where are we? Orange County, California. Or more specifically, "The Lower Depths" -– a strong, stunning new adaptation of Maxim Gorky’s 1902 Marxist classic, courtesy of Rude Guerrilla Theater Company. This ain't your Uncle Ilya’s "Lower Depths". It’s new, and improved -– thanks to a belated partnership between Dave Barton and Anton Chekhov. Dave Barton is the artistic director of Rude Guerrilla. Anton Chekhov is dead. But, as the press release explains, Barton has followed Chekhov’s advice as he’s directed and adapted this play to today’s America. It’s a little-known fact that Chekhov urged Gorky to shorten and rework "The Lower Depths" as the play premiered. Gorky refused. It was an amazingly controversial work for its time, daring to portray the lowest class of people onstage during the immoderate era of the Czars. Gorky wanted to make a big point about class struggle; he made it, and then he wrote a whole bunch of yakety-yak to follow it. Chekhov wanted Gorky to junk this anti-climax, and end the play with its biggest event. Barton has followed Chekhov’s instruction, and the result is bracing. He has given the characters generic names; he has changed gender and age where needed; and his 16-actor cast seems practically imported from Santa Ana’s large homeless community. The outstanding costumes (by Peter Balgoyen and Thomas Irwin) and the set (by Don Hess and Barton) go a long way toward suspending our disbelief; you walk on trash as you walk to your seat, and the playing area looks much like the alley nearby. This is a sad, angry story about some desperate people at the bottom of society, dreaming of an escape from the void of their lives. Will they steal for it? Will they kill for it? It’s exciting to watch their choices. Good performances abound in this staging. Lee Jalube (The Thief) cuts a sexy, aggressive turn through his role. Raquel Rigg offers a sly take on The Landlord’s Wife. Todd Hopkins (The Drag Queen) avoids mincing and plays his role with strength. Susan Shearer/Stewart (The Bag Lady) excels as a caterwauling free spirit. And Andrew Nienaber, who was Peter in Rude Guerrilla’s production of "Corpus Christi" late last year, performs with an almost animal fervor. Two special moments stand out. First, Stephen Wagner (The Actor) finally recalls his favorite Yeats poem in a beautiful, heart-touching soliloquy. Second, the cast gathers for a song in Act Two; what they choose to sing will chill you even in its heavy-handedness. "The Lower Depths" is really a theatrical mountain. It’s hard for most companies to climb. This company has done it -– by doing things in its own way. "The Lower Depths", presented by Rude Guerrilla Theater Co. at the Empire Theater, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Fri.-Sun. through June 9 (some Thu. performances). $10-12. 714.547.4688. Copyright © 2000 The Write Word, Inc. All rights reserved. |