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After the Riot
by Les Hunter
Haymarket reviewed December 10, 2005
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| Photo Credit: The Alchemy Theater Company of Manhattan |
| Producing a historical piece has its advantages and its disadvantages. The work has elements of a plot already created, and it often has a readymade audience. It also has a tendency to be weighed down by the facts, with the event itself often ill suited to the mechanics of theatrical presentation. Some of the advantages are apparent in the Alchemy Theater Company's fictionalized historical piece Haymarket, but nearly all of the disadvantages are present as well.
The play is loosely based on events surrounding the Haymarket Riot in Chicago in the late 1800's, when anarchists and socialists squared off with police during a march in support of the eight-hour workday. In the confusion of the confrontation, an unknown instigator detonated a bomb, killing several policemen. Police then opened fire, and several workers were killed. In the aftermath, four anarchist leaders were hanged, among them Albert Parsons (Dennis McNitt), who, along with his family, is fictionalized here.
In the first scene, we are introduced to his daughter, Lucy. Her mother, also named Lucy (both are played by Squeaky Moore), has put her in an insane asylum because the events of her father's past haunt her—Lucy sees and interacts with ghosts associated with the riot. In the asylum, she undergoes the "new technique" of psychoanalysis by Dr. Henry Gahagan (Morgan Baker). But the specters begin to overtake her. These ghosts retell the story of her father and his flight to Wisconsin to elude the authorities, who mistakenly blame him for the Haymarket bombing.
In Wisconsin, Albert is befriended by the benevolent Jenny, with whom he is hiding, and their relationship turns ambiguously romantic. Her jealous husband, Daniel, along with the lawyer representing the other captured anarchist leaders, convinces Albert to return to Chicago, turn himself in, and persuade the judge of his innocence. The judge, however, is not persuaded, and, as the audience knows from the beginning, Albert's death is all but certain.
Playwright Zayd Dohrn may have found an echo of his own experiences in the character of Lucy, the daughter of revolutionaries: he is the child of 60's radicals involved in the notorious Weathermen group. The story seems straightforward enough, but it is burdened by Dohrn's desire to cover so many plot lines. The play is decidedly traditional in its narrative techniques, but confusing modernist elements (a powerful light that shines on the audience, atonal music) seem almost added on and artificial.
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| Brigit Huppuch and Judson Jones |
| Photo Credit:Trevor Oswalt |
| The music is particularly annoying, at times cacophonously attempting to create unease and at other times mundanely repeating overly sentimental chords that outweigh the emotion coming from the stage. Ultimately, the sound best reflecting the piece is the hollow noise emanating from the heater in the back of the theater.
Morgan Baker as Gahagan is one bright spot; earnest and humorous, he easily plays the sincere, naïve doctor. Squeaky Moore, as both Lucys, at first convincingly portrays both mother and daughter, but as the night wears on, the characters become less distinct.
The set is perfunctory, with three drab flats, an old-fashioned bed, and a large chest, and serves as both the asylum and various turn-of-the-century working-class dwellings in Chicago.
A second plot line, concerning the romantic missed connection between a nurse attending to the riot's wounded and an injured policeman, seems rushed and disjointed, resulting in a relationship that evokes little empathy from the audience.
Indeed, there is little feeling for many of the characters. When, in a moment where Albert's wife and Jenny make a potentially devastating appearance in the same room, the possibility for explosive dramatics is palpable. Instead, Jenny rather awkwardly says, "Well, I guess I should be going." The audience, disappointed, may have said the same thing.
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Beckett Theater (Theater Row)
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Category: Drama
Written by: Zayd Dohrn
Directed by: Robert Saxner
Produced by: The Alchemy Theatre Company of Manhattan, Inc.
Opened: December 8, 2004
Closed: December 23, 2005
Running Time: 2 hours
Theater: Beckett Theater (Theater Row)
Address: 410 W 42nd St
New York, NY 10036
Yahoo! Maps Directions
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Tickets: $15.00
none
FYI the $15 includes box office service charge. Grant total cost of tickets is $15.00
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Written by: Zayd Dohrn
Directed by: Robert Saxner
Light Designer: Stephen Sakowski
Sound Designer: Haddon Givens Kime
Set Designer: Heidi Meisenhelder
Costume Supervisor: George Alberto Pires
Technical Director: Tad Clay
Production Stage Manager: Noel Webb
Cast
Squeaky Moore as Lucy Parsons
Morgan Baker as Henry Gahagan and John Bonfield
Dennis McNitt as Albert Parsons
Birgit Huppuch as Mary Catherine Barrett and Jenny Hoan
D. Zhonzinsky as Carter Harrison
Judson Jones as Charles Spierling and Daniel Hoan
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