"FRONT," A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Co. at the Cornservatory
BY LUCIA MAURO
Director Michael Buino should win an award for packing what appears to be a cast of thousands into one of the tiniest theater spaces in town: the Cornservatory. But, while Buino and his fellow A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Co. ensemble members make a herculean effort to capture the indefatigable spirit of Robert Caisley’s epic World War II drama, "Front," they struggle with a script greatly in need of editing.
Reminiscent of the empowering film starring Greer Garson as "Mrs. Miniver," "Front" follows the torn-to-shred lives of brave English civilians during the Blitz. But, unlike the focused beauty of "Mrs. Miniver," this sprawling play tries to cover too much ground – often through conflicting theatrical styles. The main working-class family of Frank and Judith and their two young children gets lost in various tangents on school discipline and repetitive (and bumbling) air raid lectures.
The play begins as a work about class struggle as an aristocratic family, headed by the patriotic mustachioed Sir Charles standing before the Houses of Parliament, is presented – split-screen style – against Frank and Judith enjoying a brief respite at the seashore, near a military base. But the wealthy family disappears altogether (except for a blink of a reappearance by Sir Charles as a prosecutor).
Other stories – each worthy of their own play -- then emerge over the course of nearly three hours. Rather than a fully realized drama with a clearly defined arc, Caisley gives us snapshots of ordinary folks devastated by war.
Judith – a proud, rock-solid woman who reluctantly takes a job assembling detonators for bombs (initially unbeknownst to her) – is at the work’s core. Her confident husband Frank goes off to war positive that he’ll return. And, in a series of disturbing snippets, we see their children, the lovestruck teen Sheila and mild-mannered John, acquire deep psychological scars from witnessing their loved ones and strangers getting killed by bombs and shrapnel.
Yet their story often gets brushed aside so that we can experience another family, who’s cricket-champion son returns disabled; or how one man lost his wife during a bombing while she prepared tea; or the embittered Joan, whose husband and son are sacrificed. In fact, Joan is such a complex character – and pivotal in her final act of cold defiance – that an entire show could be built upon her tragedy and close connection to Judith.
It’s understandable why the playwright wanted to tell so many stories. The sheer scope of civilian casualties in England from the late 1930s to mid-1940s cries out for such a grand epic. Nevertheless, Caisley layers his drama with too many subplots, several of which hang in limbo (no doubt like the fate of most of the real-life victims). That approach hampers the dramatic fluidity of the piece. Most surprising, the naturalistic Act One – which includes provocatively constructed scenes, like the detonator factory and a devastating dance party for soldiers on leave – gives way to a second act that’s part surreal/part hyper-real.
The Greek-chorus opening of Act Two is inarguably heartbreaking as an art student, a flower vendor, a bus driver, a young man on a date all share their last moments on this earth before they got buried in rubble. This graciously crafted sequence could have served as the entire play – it encapsulated, in poetic terms, the waste and futility of war. Afterwards the more literal story picks up, and the play falls apart.
Buino miraculously achieves an invincible sense of unity among his large cast – with many actors effectively playing multiple roles. Tina Haglund as the loyal Judith and Matt Stevens as the fervent Frank turn in two of the most real and consistent performances. Other fine portrayals include Robyn Accetta as the rebellious child, Mira; Maria Stephens as a ghostly and sensitive art student; Kate Parker as the sexy Angie and an outspoken WREN; Kathrine Ayers as the immovable Joan; Rosemary Bradley as loving mother hen Mrs. Briggs; and Marcus Kamie in several outstanding multiple roles.
A Reasonable Facsimile’s production, however, generally feels as clunky as the script. Part of the problem can be attributed to the cramped and awkward Cornservatory space. But Buino adds a few modern touches that undermine the power of the play’s vintage subject matter.
The show begins with an actor waving a red flag – "Les Mis"-like – behind a gauze curtain as mainly American war-related radio broadcasts carry us through time. The choice is well intended but runs on too long and hammers home the idea that war has been prevalent throughout every era of history.
A similar overkill hits us at the end of Act One when sound designer David Ropinski plunges audiences into a deafening Blitz that seems to last for 20 minutes in total darkness. Why Buino opted to costume the young disabled Briggs boy in Vietnam attire when he returns from the war is one of the most baffling conundrums – considering the rest of the cast is clad in Haglund’s accurate 1940s attire.
Overall, "Front" is more cinematic than theatrical. It’s heart – and this theater company’s heart – are in the right place. But the play, through its over-ambitious intentions, eventually wears down audiences as if they, too, have just survived the Blitz.•
A Reasonable Facsimilie Theatre Co.’s production of "Front" runs through December 15 at the Cornservatory, 4210 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $12-$15. Call 773-282-9728 or log onto www.arftco.com.
