NIGHTLIFE MAGAZINE  8/6/07

THEATRE REVIEW
"The Exception & The Rule"
by Bertolt Brecht -- Presented by Subversive Theatre in the Infringement Festival 2007
by Willy Rogue Donaldson

The buoyancy of live theatre presented as a moving street pageant was one of the sweet triumphs of The Infringement Festival.  The organizer of the Festival, Kurt Schneiderman, directed an exciting production of Brecht's "The Exception and the Rule."  It started with an audience-grabbing parade down Allen to Day's Park, with masked costumed actors accompanied by the psychedelicious players of Pat Cain's Freedom Universe Marching Band!  Startled by-standers jumped out of the way, followed along, or both.

This tale of exploitation and injustice began in the Park, as a white man in the Far East employs a guide and a coolie laborer to take him through the desert to register his mining claim.  There's a strict class system shown, not only in the pecking order, but also in the assumptions of motives and actions.  The Merchant expects the Guide to prod and whip the Laborer to hurry him up, neither the merchant nor the guide carry anything heavier than a flask.  The laborer is loaded with huge heavy packs like a camel, when he sits down to rest, he disappears under his load.

The rest of the actors play roles as needed and become the white masked chorus when not.  This group comments on some of the developments, acts as the spiritual consciousness of the society, and moves the audience along as one act ends and the pageant moves to another location for the next act.  The fine movement choreography was developed by Monica Karwan, who also plays one of these actors.

Most of the development of the play is in the voiced thoughts of the Merchant.  We hear his assumptions about the guide and the coolie, and his fears and beliefs churn the play to disaster.  He is brought to trial, but his judges share the same assumptions and fears, and find him innocent because of them.

Travis Taber gives an imperious performance as the Merchant, his youth emphasizes his arrogance.  The Guide is played by Hasheen DeBerry, who is fired for not being sufficiently ruthless.  The Laborer is played by Leonard Ziolkowski, his body language communicates the weight of his packs but also his endurance.  Anthony Tyrpak plays the Innkeeper, who represents the sidelines of society, those who see all but refuse to witness or protest anything that would offend the Merchant and his class.

The others in the strong cast were Patrician Armstrong, Marshall Maxwell, Brianna Jernigan, and Kevin Cain.  There seemed to be many more, but that just shows the effectiveness of the cast in slipping from chorus to a charactrer then back into chorus.

The staging has few props, but the ones it does have are used to great effect, especially the streams of colorful fabric.  Best costume award goes to Pat Cain, who came as the rodentious pied piper.  The use of the Greek Temple facade of the Karpeles Museum was dramatically congruous for the Judgment scene.  Lots of different elements with the cast, the locations, the miming and movement, the Marching Band, and the transitions within and between scenes.  Director Schneiderman has energized a somewhat stiff script into a multifaceted and compelling work of art.

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