An Enemy of the People
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Cititour.com Review
Never one of Ibsen's more revered works, An Enemy of the People won't win any converts with Manhattan Theatre Club's shrill, hopped-up revival. Multi-Tony-winner Boyd Gaines stars as Dr. Thomas Stockmann, who's made a discovery that could severely impact the economy of his coastal Norwegian town: The municipal baths that are bringing in scores of individuals for their purported healing properties are contaminated. Thomas wants them closed until the problem can be fixed, and he expects to be heralded as a hero for his efforts, but his brother, Peter (Richard Thomas), the town's mayor, quickly smashes those hopes.
When Thomas refuses to stay silent about his findings, Peter goes all out to discredit him, and that's where British adaptor Rebecca Lenkiewicz amps up the lecturing. Laden with contemporary terminology, her version is clearly about the politics that led to the Great Recession: greedy companies kowtowing to their investors, an ineffectual press loath to criticize, and a public easily duped by smooth talk. What initially intrigues, by allowing us to see how little human behavior has changed in the play's 130-year history, soon grows weary from repeated proselytizing, even though the running time is a mere two hours.
It doesn't help that there's little subtlety to Lenkiewicz's script, or Doug Hughes's direction. So explicitly does the playwright spell out her themes and characters' motivations that you’d think this version were intended for audiences of schoolchildren. Gaines floors the gas pedal on his performance, racing through the show with evangelical gusto, and Thomas rarely gets be more than a stock villain. Granted, they don't have the richest of Ibsen canvases to work with, but although Enemy isn't in the same league as A Doll's House or Hedda Gabler, it should still be more substantial than your average political campaign speech.
By Diane Snyder
Visit the Site
http://anenemyofthepeoplebroadway.com
Cast
Boyd Gaines, Richard Thomas, Maïté Alina, Gerry Bamman, Kathleen McNenny, Randall Newsome, John Procaccino, Michael Siberry, James Waterston
Open/Close Dates
Opening 9/4/2012
Closing 11/18/2012
Box Office
212-239-6200
Theatre Info
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
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