October 2011 Review by Tyler Tidmore
The Elephant Man
The Saint Sebastian Players begin their 31st season with Bernard Pomerance’s “The Elephant Man”, a deeply moving story involving the disfigured appearance of a man’s humanly structure and his battle with modern society. During the course of the past century, “The Elephant Man” was first introduced in an actual scientific study by Sir Frederick Treves back in 1923. His research was centered on a man named John Merrick whose exterior was plagued by an unnatural deformity that resembled that of an elephant. Many of you might be familiar with the 1980 film release of “The Elephant Man” which featured the great Anthony Hopkins alongside John Hurt; the film went on to receive several Academy Award nominations.
Before “The Elephant Man” reached commercial success through film, Bernard Pomerance had his play originally produced on Broadway in 1979, which also picked up the Tony Award for Best New Play the same year. Pomerance’s work radiates beautiful imagery along with a touching, poetic story. The play is built with a hint of a coming of age story, whose characters are fully grown yet learn more about the outside world with every passing day. A disfigured elephant man filled with innocence, a journey that separates science from emotion, and an unlikely friendship all mixed into one, which makes for a very entertaining production audiences will appreciate.
Our
play begins with a simple circus act, one of which consists of a
person with a damaged appearance used for pure exploitation.
John Merrick’s (Simina Contras) promotional poster labels him as
the Elephant Man, part man and part elephant. John’s
greedy fore-master cages him for the entertainment of possible
costumers, but after the buzz of “the Elephant Man” begins
to die down, John is set free to wander the empty world. Lost
without a place to call home, John stumbles across the land until he
meets a surgeon by the name of Frederick Treves (Doug Werder), the
same surgeon who performed a scientific study on John a few years
before. The two strike an interesting friendship, and Treves
gives John something he has never had before, a home. While
living with the doctor, John discovers a love for architecture,
literature, and art. He further develops his mind by exploring
the concept of love and hatred, along with discovering there is more
to him than just an image of fear.
Under the direction of Don Johnson, there were some theatrical choices that played very well and others that did not. One of the best directions was having a woman, Simina Contras, play the role of John Merrick. Contras' performance was precise and captivating; she provided the disfigurement of John Merrick with class and maintained a perfect level of compassion for the characters surrounding her. Her co-star Doug Werder, who played the role of Frederick Treves, also proved to be a valuable ensemble member, but several other members of the cast gave mediocre performances that brought down the quality of the production.
One of the theatre devices that did not fit properly was the use of an interpretive dance number during the opening sequences of the play. It was very avant-garde, and gave an unusual first impression that I certainly could have lived without. Occasionally other moments of strange “artistic” ambitions would light up around the stage, but thankfully lasted for no more than a few seconds. Other elements that gave great benefit to the production was Chad Bianchi's interesting set choice, and along with Brian Hupke’s original musical score, offered a refreshing environment for the actors to play. Needless to say, the Saint Sebastian Players have found themselves a great play that is worth seeing, and for a very low ticket price, you might want to consider checking this one out. For more information on this show, please visit the Theatre In Chicago The Elephant Man page.
About Tyler Tidmore
A
native of the south, and an aspiring young director, Tyler Tidmore's
life revolves around theater. Originally from Clarksville
Tennessee, Tyler moved to the big city to pursue a career in
Directing and Playwright while studying at Columbia College
Chicago. He hopes to one day open a theater and influence
younger actors the same way mentors in his life influenced him, by
introducing the magnificent form of entertainment called theatre.
Tyler's contributions to the theater world have been centered around writing and acting. He wrote sketch comedy and news segments for two years at a local news program called The Northwest Review. On the side Tyler starred in over eight productions, some of his favorites include “Words Words Words”, “The Foreigner”, and “The Brother's Grimm Spectaculathon”. He considers the highlight of his young life to be when he played the tyrant king Creon in Sophocles' “Antigone”. His acting skills granted him the honor of attaining “State All-Star Cast Member” two years in a row and obtaining first place in “Duo Acting” at the State-wide Dickson Drama Comp. “Chicago theatre is doing great things for me, I'm in a good position for what I wish to do with my life.”