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A Halloween Treat
by Deidre McFadyen
Fall of the House of Usher reviewed October 22, 2004
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To get into the spirit of Halloween this year, go see Creative Mechanics’ stylish revival of Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's psychological thriller, The Fall of the House of Usher. A pageant of hair-raising theatrics, the play will keep you riveted in your seat from the first full-throated scream.
Berkoff’s adaptation pulses with the menace and raw sexuality of the vampire-like attachment of the Usher twins Roderick and Madeline. Berkoff, a prominent figure in British theater, spells out the subtext in Poe's tale using the vocabulary of dance, mime, and performance art. While Poe implies, for instance, that the gloomy mansion cleaved by a barely perceptible fissure mirrors Roderick's creeping psychosis, Berkoff momentarily has Roderick become the house in a pivotal early speech that serves as the play's credo.
Unlike Poe's tale, which is narrated entirely from the point of view of the rational friend, Berkoff takes us into Roderick's febrile mind as well. Injecting a welcome note of humor, the script sometimes loops as Roderick replays in his mind the same fumbling social exchange with his friend.
Director Gabriel Shanks, who exquisitely realizes Berkoff's vision, has made first-rate selections for the play's three roles, including casting a woman as the friend. Janice Herndon balances the pluck and vulnerability of the doughty Edgar, who is summoned to the house by his ailing boyhood companion. Frank Blocker, fittingly tall and willowy, registers each gyration of Roderick's agitated mind as he spirals deeper into madness. The robust Shannon Maddox plays Madeline with a zombie-like intensity that makes the preternatural strength she displays in the play’s climax utterly convincing.
The success of this play hinges on the stagecraft, and Shanks' talented design team does not disappoint. Lighting designer Erik C. Bruce deftly manipulates flickering light and the enveloping darkness, exploiting the tight theater space to project all manner of shadows on the walls. He uses spotlights above the stage to construct multiple physical environments, including a partition of light that creates the illusion of Madeline sealed in her coffin.
Set designer Allen Cutler encapsulates the neglect of the Usher mansion with a few busted cane chairs and a chandelier on a dark floor strewn with the pages of a book and dry leaves. Maddox, who serves double-duty as costume designer, dresses the characters in Victorian-era formal garb with novel touches like Roderick's gleaming white nail polish and a black silk bag covering the ancient servant’s head.
Chris Meade's vivid sound effects heighten the atmosphere of terror. Meade convincingly evokes a raging thunderstorm, the galloping of a horse, a beating heart, and the cavernous vaults beneath the mansion. Classical piano music accompanies the more mundane dialogue, while silence leads into the scariest moments that crescendo with violins or other bursts of sound.
In a final testament to the potency of the play’s illusion, when the three actors come forward to take their bows, the audience—reluctant to break the spell—does not clap. Only when the house lights come on do we snap back to everyday reality and express our appreciation.
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Independent Theater
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Category: Drama
Written by: Edgar Allen Poe adapted by Steven Berkoff
Directed by: Gabriel Shanks
Produced by: Creative Mechanics
Opened: October 21, 2004
Closed: November 7, 2004
Running Time: 65 minutes
Theater: Independent Theater
Address: 52 W 8th Street
New York, NY 10011
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Tickets: $15.00
None Available
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Creative Team
Written by: Steven Berkoff
Adapted from: Edgar Allan Poe
Directed by: Gabriel Shanks
Produced by: Avi Glickstein/Creative Mechanics
Light Designer: Erik C. Bruce
Sound Designer: Chris Meade
Scenic and Properties Designer: Allen Cutler
Costume Designer: Shannon Maddox
Dramaturgy: Janice Herndon
Cast
Frank Blocker as Roderick Usher
Janice Herndon as Oswald/Edgar
Shannon Maddox as Madeline Usher
Crew
Production Manager/Asst. Director: Benjamin Keightley
Development Consultant: Christy Maxfield
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