Steep is more than up to the challenges of 'Ui'

ON THE FRINGE:



By Kerry Reid
Special to the Tribune

June 8, 2007



Bertolt Brecht's 1941 gangster allegory "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" could be the theatrical equivalent of Godwin's Law, that Internet-age maxim decreeing that whoever brings up a Hitler analogy in an online discussion loses the argument. Al Capone was a murderous thug, but he was driven by greed, not an overarching ideology based on racial "purity" and world domination.

Jonathan Berry's cunning staging of "Arturo Ui" for Steep Theatre Company neatly avoids the awkward problems of the analogy -- and the limitations of the storefront space -- by de-emphasizing the usual elements of Brecht's "epic" theater in favor of a smart, fast-moving, hard-boiled burlesque. The result is the most cohesive and satisfying show I've seen from this company to date, and it features a dazzling, sit-up-and-take-notice performance from Yosh Hayashi in the title role, who is first among equals in a stellar ensemble. Steep specializes in large-cast productions, with many actors playing multiple roles, and every performance here is in exquisite sync with the tone of the production.

George Tabori's bold translation incorporates Shakespearean blank verse, emphasizing the play's debt to "Richard III." The hunch-shouldered Hayashi slithers through his den of thieves, murderers and extortionists like a malevolent apostrophe, eliminating anyone who gets in the way of his plans to take over the Chicago "cauliflower trust" and to annex Cicero (read: Austria). Scratchy voice-overs make the connection between the onstage events and critical turning points in the rise of Hitler, such as the burning of the Reichstag and the assassination of Dollfus, the Austrian chancellor. (In one of the more pointed R III references, Hayashi's Ui pitches woo to the widow of "Dullfeet" over the casket of her murdered husband.) The funniest scene, in which a disheveled and drunken thespian (Jim Poole) teaches the near-feral Ui how to walk with authority and address the crowd, grows chilling as the dictator-in-waiting begins to ape the mannerisms of Hitler -- though having Ui appear with the famous Hitler 'stache at the end might be hammering the point home a bit too hard.

But one doesn't need to know every historical parallel to grasp Brecht's essential point -- would-be dictators are petty narcissistic criminals who should be greeted with mass derision rather than fear. Heather Gilbert and Jessica Harpenau's stark lighting design incorporates several work lights hanging from cords around the perimeters. One wishes that someone on stage would grab a light, shove it into the face of Hayashi's addled "mastermind" and say "Here. Is this what you're so afraid of?" Their failure to do so is what gives Brecht's imperfect but engaging parable its relevance, made crystal-clear in this not-to-be-missed production.

On-line article can be found here.