Review: Beasley’s ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ a powerful play
By Bob Fischbach WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Published Thursday September 24, 2009
The John Beasley Theater has distinguished itself again with stellar ensemble work, only this time the playwright isn’t Beasley’s favorite, August Wilson.
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” adapted by Dale Wasserman from Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel, chronicles life on a mental ward. It’s a classic power struggle between Nurse Ratched, who runs the ward, and Randle McMurphy, who lands there after failing to conform to prison rules.
Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher made the characters unforgettable in a 1975 movie that won an Academy Award for best picture.
Kelli Nesmith, as Nurse Ratched, and Fred Slegers, as McMurphy, put their personal stamps on these characters, and the result is entertaining and powerful.
So powerful, in fact, that 21⁄2 hours sailed right by at a Sunday matinee.
Nesmith plays Ratched even more brittle and inward than Fletcher did, but never to the point of caricature. She’s utterly believable as she plots and spars.
Likewise Slegers, whose McMurphy is a slouchy, laid-back wisenheimer who can’t resist an opportunity to tweak Ratched, challenge her authority and bend her rules to the breaking point.
He’s also a born leader, and the other guys on the ward quickly look to him, even when they don’t exactly stand behind him in his showdown with Ratched.
They know something McMurphy doesn’t. Ratched holds the trump cards: who gets electroshock for bad behavior, who might be a candidate for a lobotomy, and — the ace in the hole — the power to decide when McMurphy can be released.
As the power struggle slowly escalates, McMurphy solidifies his stature with the inmates, and that’s where director Tyrone Beasley’s fine ensemble work really pays off.
Dayton Rogers, as fragile, stuttering Billy; Christopher Slater, as smart but impotent Harding; Geoffrey Stienblock, as Martini, the guy with imaginary friends; and Carl Brooks, as physically imposing but mute Chief Bromden all turn in strong and memorable performances. Brooks is especially haunting in spotlighted monologues, speaking to his long-dead papa about what life has stolen from his very soul.
Mark O’Leary and Mark Kocsis get less chance to shine but are equally focused as two more ward patients. Tertia Holyfield, as a high-strung nurse in the medications room, and Donald Wieczorek, as a doctor who bucks Ratched’s agenda, also stand out in smaller roles.
Minor distractions Sunday included a couple of line fluffs, a balky microphone in the medications room and some awkward scene transitions in which furniture got knocked around a bit.
None of it much mattered. Beasley has coached his players with a potent combination of well-timed humor and dramatic realism that makes “Cuckoo’s Nest” a sane and solid choice for fans of good theater.
Contact the writer: 444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com
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