Paradise Lost
Written by Clifford Odets
Directed by Andrew Gallant, Lisa Konoplisky
Charnel House, 3421 W. Fullerton (map)
thru April 7 | tickets: $15 | more info
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Depression-era piece reflects today’s inequalities with the 99% vs. 1%
The Agency Theater Collective presents
Paradise Lost
Review by K.D. Hopkins
It is a fascination of mine to see how Americans lived in the past centuries of our existence. What did the homes look like? What did people wear and what was the slang? America during the Depression is of particular interest to me and it is more than the economic similarity of the Millennium. Clifford Odets‘ Paradise Lost is an ode to
The Gordon family is middle class with what could be considered lofty aspirations. Leo Gordon co-owns a struggling purse factory. Like many families in the early 20th century, they shared their home with tenants and a boarder. Leo’s wife Clara is a straight shooter who speaks her mind – which was seen as subversive when this play premiered. James Sparling plays Leo in an intense performance of a man trying to do the right thing and to believe in the world of which the Transcendentalists spoke. Sparling’s regal bearing is perfect for the more formal 1930′s when people dressed for the day even if they were just keeping house. Clara is played by Shannon Huneryager with a fine dose of spit and vinegar. This is a performance to see if anyone believes the delusion of the American housewife. Huneryager’s looks and carriage fit the times, seemingly stepping out of a lovely hand tinted photo. She also has a wonderful grasp of the dialogue, with some of the funniest lines in the play.
Board Gus Michaels (Danny Glenn) spends the days puttering with minor repairs and his stamp collection. Glenn’s performance is at once funny and heartbreaking. Gus believes that he is a man of purpose who will one day come upon a million dollar idea if he could just get an investor. Gus is a widower who brought his daughter Libby into the lives of the Gordon family. Libby, played by Sommer Austin, is a firecracker. I loved seeing the sexual mores of that time out in the open. Things were not much different from now, other than a greater expectation of having children.
Libby marries former Olympic champion runner Ben Gordon (Adam Claus). Ben is literally the golden boy who cannot get a job and – if jobs were available – he doesn’t have the stones to really work for a living. Claus is oddly appealing as the now-soft athlete who lives in the shadow of the local hood Kewpie. Claus’s Ben is a man who still lives on the accolades of his athletic achievements. He is not as smart as his sickly brother Julie who suffers from ‘sleeping sickness’ (encephalitis) or his piano virtuoso sister Pearl.
Edward Karch is fantastic as Julie, a ghost of a man wandering around in his robe on the periphery of life. As sickness takes hold, Karch’s subtle performance never drips with treacle or deliberate maudlin effect.
 
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Patrick Burch gives a stunning performance as furnace stoker Pike who lost both sons in WWI. Pike is the social conscience of Paradise Lost, seeing the futility of war and of those who cling to social strata that have outlived any useful purpose. Burch gives a volcanic soliloquy that is a punch to the guts. His performance personifies Odets’ anger and frustration with the political system that put on a cheerful face while starved men were turning up in the city dump.
Other fine performances include David Falk as Leo’s deceptive business partner Sam Katz; Janet Magnuson as Katz’ wife Bertha. Though Magnuson’s Bertha doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, her language is in every move and haunted stare. Bertha endures Sam’s verbal and possible physical abuse and is unable to speak up until everyone is up against the wall.
In a genius bit of casting, Aila Peck is cast as Kewpie the neighborhood tough. Peck projects a Bogart swagger and menace without apology. This kind of cross casting is tough to do but Peck carries it off beautifully.
Odets’ play carries the same weight today that it did in the 1930′s. The social issues are the same. Today we call them 1% and back then it was the middle class and immigrants that made up the 99%. The more things change….well, you know the rest.
The staging of Paradise Lost is a bit disconcerting, with the audience on the periphery of the room. The stage is the entire length of the room with projections on a cyc wall dispersed throughout the play. I felt deprived of some of the actors’ performances, wanting to see Karch as he performed Julie in his final throes while still knowing the best stocks to buy.
Tierra G. Novy’s set is beautifully appointed and Charnel House is a great venue with 1930′s charm, but there is an actual stage that could have been used with better effect rather than the odd cross between promenade and ‘in the rectangle’. More consideration also could be made towards the arrangement and number of seats. It’s a good show and I recommend it, but be prepared for tight quarters and a bit of gooseneck posturing. I also recommend that you buy your tickets in advance because there’s almost more cast members than there are seats!
Rating: ★★★
Paradise Lost continues through April 7th at Charnel House, 3421 W. Fullerton (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7pm. Tickets are $15, and are available online at BrownPaperTickets.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at WeAreTheAgency.org. (Running time: play length, which includes one intermission)
