A City in Transition

Berlin

Following the end of World War I, Berlin, Germany had become the world’s center of intellectualism, creativity and sensual liberalism. With a large upper class population and a growing middle class, the city’s poorer citizens continually struggled with poverty and unemployment. Playwright Mickle Maher’s ambitious play is an adaptation of Berlin, a three-volume set of graphic novels by Jason Lutes. Both the books and the play span the years between 1928 and 1933. As we bear witness to all the upheavals and changes, a theatergoer will find himself hoping for the best While watching the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Fascism and the Nazi Party. But there’s no doubt that the main character of this sprawling drama remains the actual city of Berlin, as seen throughout this two-and-a-half hour production. Its scope and spectacle astounds the audience depicting a city in constant transition.

The supporting characters include young Marthe Muller (played with devil-may-care playfulness and firm resolve by Raven Whitley), who’s left her rural home traveling to Berlin to study Art. She’s haunted by the death of her beloved cousin, Theo (the omnipresent ghostlike Brandon Ruiter), who was killed in WWI. Idealistic journalist Kurt Severing (a handsome and fiery Tim Decker), several years her senior, chances to meet Marthe as they both travel by train to the city. They fall in and out of love throughout the story. At school, Marthe is befriended by a crossdressing Anna Lenke (played with passion and poignance by Mo Shipley), and their friendship eventually develops into something much more.

Meanwhile, Gudrun (portrayed by dynamic actress, Elizabeth Laidlaw) and Otto Braun (usually played by HB Ward, but capably handled on opening night by Christopher  Meister) struggle to survive, as poverty and politics tear the family apart. Fearing her abusive husband and his unrealistic demands, Gudrun flees home with her teenage daughter, Silvia (in a powerful performance by Ellie Duffey). The teenager survives on the streets, where she befriends a Jewish youth, David Schwartz (another wonderful performance by Jack Doherty). The young man is defying danger by selling Communist newspapers on the street, much to his father’s cautioning.

At Berlin’s smoky, hedonistic cabarets and nightclubs, where the party never ends, African-American jazz musician, Kid Hogan (terrifically portrayed by Terry Bell), and chanteuse Pola Mosse (portrayed by beautiful and stunningly multitalented actress, songstress and musician, Molly Hernandez) entertain the cocktail-swilling clientele. Among their audience are wealthy socialite, and Kurt Severing’s former lover, Margarethe von Falkensee (played with divine debauchery by Kate Collins) and Otto Schmidt (portrayed, along with other characters, by the always reliable and sincere Guy Van Swearingen).

The ensemble of citizens are completely interwoven throughout the fabric of the city. We watch as six years pass before our eyes and bring an end to the decadent era of the Weimar Republic. Utilizing the entire theatrical venue, Director Charles Newell has brilliantly and vigorously staged and guided this World Premiere. The production plays out on John Culbert’s versatile and navigable Scenic Design, dominated upstage by a high wall of brick arches, and downstage by six sturdy tables and chairs. These, in turn, become beds, benches, bridges and everything else required by the story. Keith Parham’s dark and shadowy Lighting Design often employs area spotlighting that reduces the vast, open playing area to focus on more intimate scenes. Mark Messing’s Compositions and Sound Design nicely coat the production with motion and musical motifs. Like John Culbert’s chromatic palette, Jacqueline Firkins’ Costumes take their color cues from the black, white and gray illustrations in Jason Lutes’ graphic novel. A bespectacled Kurt Severing looks exactly like the drawing of him in Lutes’ books. She especially shines with Margarethe’s gorgeous, silver and black beaded gown.

Meticulously adapted from Jason Lutes’ graphic masterwork, Mickle Maher’s sprawling spectacle is at once admirable, astonishing and awe-inspiring. It also serves as a warning as the play’s frighteningly prescient of similar events occurring in the United States today. The play’s populated with an array of fascinating politically, socially and economically diverse characters, and it examines how an ever-changing Berlin effects them all. Charles Newell has directed a truly gifted company comprised of twelve terrific actors to effectively bring this epic tale to life. The result is a moving and memorable portrait of a thriving and ever-changing metropolis, a city in transition. 

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented April 19-May 18 by the Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago.

Tickets are available in person at the theatre box office, by calling 773-753-4472 or by going to www.CourtTheatre.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.