|
Review
Catch-22
Lucille Lortel Theatre
November 15, 2008
Morgan Wycks
Listing Information
Why would someone want to bring Joseph Heller’s famous novel, Catch-22, to the stage? Is it because we’re in an incomprehensible war in the Middle East and now is a good time to make a political statement? Or just because the work is a hell of a ride? Mr. Heller’s satire was aiming its gun at the absurdities of war, to be sure, but more at life in general and though this, an Aquila Theatre Company production adapted and directed by Peter Meineck, is a worthy effort, Catch-22 is better read than said. Even Mike Nichol’s film version in 1970 couldn’t find the right tone to mix the real, the unreal, and the surreal, along with the outlandish humor.
For those not in the know, the catch in Catch-22 concerns the pilots of World War II and the catastrophic fear they endured flying an ever-increasing number of missions and the ever-decreasing chances of surviving. Other than dying, the only way to get out of flying was declare it was insane to take on these missions. But to declare it meant one was rational and therefore sane enough to continue to fly. The anti-hero experiencing the insanity of the war and the people around him is named Yossarian and it is through his lens that we get to feel the frustration of how humans can rationalize any behavior they need to.
Despite Mr. Meineck’s often creatively theatrical staging, with its use of video, set pieces and sound effects, much of Mr. Heller’s crazy plots, gets lost in the miasma of trying to cram too much into a produceable time line. Some scenes still capture the hilarity of the book, particularly those scenes in Mr. Meineck’s Act II, but the over-all effect is one of watering down the experience. We never feel Yossarian’s fear since some of the production generates a kind of kids-at-play in the backyard, and therefore we don’t feel his utter frustration with the bureaucracy of battle. It certainly doesn’t help that Yossarian is played with a kind of laid-back, sardonic attitude by John Lavelle. I have now seen Mr. Lavelle in a number of productions, and though this is his best performance to date, he plays everything the same way – with sarcasm and slam dunks that miss the hoop. It also doesn’t help the production that many of the other actors resemble each other so that when they take on different characters one isn’t sure who is who. Those that stand out best are Richard Sheridan Willis, particularly as Dr. Daneeka, and Christina Pumariega admirably performing a wide variety of women and the occasional male.
The Aquila Theatre Company has taken on some heady material in the past with some success and though I enjoyed parts of this production, sometimes certain literature should remain in the original form. Not everything has to be adapted to another medium.-- |
