My trip to NYC to see the Classic Stage Company's mess of a production of Hamlet (see 4/5/15 post) became the first in a series. The next play to be performed by the company was Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. The fact that Chris Noth, formerly of Law and Order, was cast in the leading role was enough. As a diehard L&O fan, it was an opportunity not to be missed, previous mixed review notwithstanding.
There is a tenuous Hamlet connection to Faustus. Hamlet was a student at Wittenberg. Could Faustus have been one of his teachers? Granted, one is a fictional character and one was a real person, but it's an interesting thought. David Davalos' play Wittenberg, which I saw performed in Richmond (see 4/20/14 post), played up this angle.
The CSC stage version was adapted from Marlowe's original. I had read the play in college, and I reread it twice to prepare for the live performance. While the CSC production kept period costuming and language, the humor was expanded and updated for modern sensibilities. This was both a blessing and a curse. Certainly it made the play enjoyable. Much of the humor was tied directly to the audience. For example, the clowns brought onto stage one lady from the audience to dance naked. (She remained clothed, telling them and us that it would not have been a pretty sight.) She was a great sport, playing along with the jokes (which continued all night) and receiving well-deserved applause.
In the play's second act, the humor became more outlandish. I have to believe that in Marlowe's time depictions of papal pretenders, straw horses and Benvolio's horns were over-the-top humor. Centuries later, though, how would that be received? Instead, we were treated to bad Italian stereotypical accents and zombies. Newer is not necessarily better. (I'm not saying that just because I was nearly a victim of the zombie attack.) The clowns' presence overtook that of Faustus. In a play about him, it would have been nice to see more of him and less of Dick and Robin.
The highlight of the play was the parade of the Seven Deadly Sins to end Act I. Lucifer appeared in white tuxedo, red socks and incredibly eerie contact lenses. We, the audience, played pride. The next five sins were cast members. Greed ended up near me, stealing a (planted) purse from behind my seat. Anger was a foul-mouthed apparition who continually stabbed himself. Gluttony and envy were a team, the former stuffing and coating his face with cream-filled donuts and the latter whining about that and about everyone else in the house. Sloth, too lazy to walk, was brought in on a sled. The final sin, lust, was another woman from the audience. She seemed mortified by the attention, tried to play along and then attempted to return to her seat. Faustus prevented it, though, and an erotic dance ensued. Oh, wait. She must be an actress (or the most permissive audience member ever)! We were duped. Well played! The actress returned in the second act to play the role of Helen, a pretty sight indeed.
As the play drew to an abrupt close with the death of Faustus, I was sorry to see an enjoyable and well-acted evening of theatre come to an end. Perhaps the abruptness was by design, a sign that any death, even one known four and twenty years in advance, is too soon. Whatever the intent, it was a quick end to Faustus as he was pulled down to Hell within a fog of stage smoke. And then it was done. And so is this post. Terminat Author opus.
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