The End of the World
Theater Preview
Fourpeople,
two ash bins and a toy dog may not seem like much come the end of time,
but these components have propelled Samuel Beckett’s Endgame to more
than 50 years of critical praise. Starting next weekend, the Stiemke
Theater brings Endgame back to Milwaukee.
When the sheet is
pulled off Mark Corkins on March 21, it will be his second time in the
role of the blind, sickly Hamm. Years ago, Corkins played Hamm in the
tiny confines of the UW-Milwaukee Studio Theatre. With its larger
stage, the Milwaukee Rep has a much bigger canvas to work with. On the
flip side, however, the Rep will face difficulty in bringing the
immediacy of the characters’ emotional realities to one of the largest
studio theaters in the county.
As seen before at UWM, the
perpetually restless decay of Hamm’s sickness breathes a fascinating
counterpoint through Corkins’ powerful, deeply resonant voice. Lee
Ernst will fill the role of Clov, the reluctant servant who comes ever
closer to leaving the dying Hamm. Without Clov’s aid, Hamm would be left helpless, thus unraveling the tension that holds the play together.
Ernst
is an excellent choice for the role, an actor who can bring out the
inner strength in overwhelming weakness with a deftness that few others
can muster. While Corkins and Ernst haven’t spent the kind of
interminable time together that their characters have, both have been
members of the Rep resident acting company for a long time. The years
of professional experience shared by these two actors inform the years
of personal experience shared by their two characters.
Torrey
Hanson plays Hamm’s father, Nagg, who periodically pops out of one of
the ash bins. Nagg adds depth to the plight of Hamm with a monologue, a
botched joke and other interactions. Hanson has a charming stage
presence that should prove pleasantly incongruous with a character who
has previously been played as a pathetic, bitter old man.
From
the other ash bin, Laura Gordon plays Nagg’s wife, Nell. Gordon’s gift
for pulling humor from between the lines of a script should balance out
the cast quite well. Beckett’s play won’t appeal to everyone, of
course. It is slow and repetitious. Instead of traditional theater,
it’s more like a concert.
Endgame is a four-part chamber
symphony with no written melody. It is an extended poem for four with a
few stage directions thrown in for dramatic effect. And the Rep has
assembled some of the most seasoned practitioners of the spoken word to
invite audiences, however briefly, to the end of the world.
Also in Theater:
- Tue
6 - Wed
7 - Thu
8 - Fri
9 - Sat
10 - Sun
11 - Mon
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