Wednesday, November 19, 1997
There’s a rhinoceros on the loose at the Odyssey
THEATER:
Metaphors, logic run rampant in play set in small French townBy
Michael Gillette
Daily Bruin Contributor
Anyone who has seen or read Eugene Ionesco’s "Rhinoceros" knows
that while the actor who is playing the part of the protagonist,
Berenger, may speak the most lines, he does not have the play’s
choicest part.
That choicest part belongs to the man who plays Berenger’s
friend, Jean. This actor gets to invent and enact the play’s set
piece: Jean’s transformation from man to rhinoceros that makes up
half the second act.
That said, one might hesitate as well to call the role of
Berenger even the second choicest part in the play. One could
easily give this to distinction to Berenger’s co-worker, Botard,
the bickering union man who continually argues all sides of an
issue with an unwavering contempt for his opponent.
Botard only appears in one scene of the play, but one can’t
imagine an actor not wanting to dig into the lines Ionesco has
written for him. The same thought comes to mind when one sees actor
Christian Gossett in the role of the logician in the Odyssey
Theater’s new production of "Rhinoceros" which runs through Jan.
11.
The logician, too, is a character who appears in only one scene,
but Gossett’s exit from that scene Sunday was met with loving
applause. This was largely, of course, because of Gossett’s bold,
physical portrayal, but it was also due to Ionesco’s wonderful
games with the very idea of logic in this play.
The play, which is a landmark absurdist text from the late ’50s,
takes place in a small French town where the inhabitants start
turning themselves into rhinoceroses. First, it is a few of them,
then more and more. The metaphor is rich. The idea of fascism in
the form of the creatures is clearly suggested as references to
appeasement and anti-intellectual "naturalism" are made, but any
attempt at a one-to-one symbolic reading of this kind seems
reductionist in the face of this wonderful play.
Ionesco’s real target, if we are looking for one, seems to be
"logic." Jean, Botard and the logician all wield their logical
arguments like invincible swords that leave them impervious to
counterargument. Only Berenger ever expresses doubt, and this
doubt, in the face of these men who one by one become pachyderms
leaves him in a state of paralysis.
Berenger’s doubt is suggested physically in the play by his
nationality: he’s an American among the French. Director Ron Sossi
certainly capitalizes on this fact. His Berenger (Sam Anderson),
assumes a wishy-washy, but never overly whiny, speaking style,
while the rest of the cast (save Kristen Lowman as Berenger’s
sweetheart, Daisy) adopt robust French accents that are uniformly
spectacular. Each of these Frenchmen drawl out their dialogue with
relish, "winning" their arguments against the comparatively
ordinary and defenseless Berenger. The more nasal indignation they
apply, the more Ionesco’s point is underscored.
The effect Sossi strives for and achieves at every turn in his
delightful production is theatricality. The sets, the lighting and
the acting all cohere toward this end. There’s a special sense of
refraction between the production and the audience, particularly in
Anderson’s dazzling portrayal of Berenger. His slouches, mumbled
words and shuffling walk all have a unique distancing effect.
Berenger is the protagonist, but the audience is not Berenger:
they’re merely watching him, like they watch everyone else on
stage.
The only negative note applies to the production’s, and
Ionesco’s, finale. Whether one finds the final 10 minutes of
"Rhinoceros" profound or ponderous is subjective. Whether there are
any jokes in the final 10 minutes isn’t the issue: there aren’t.
This doesn’t make the end poor, but it does present quite a shift
of gears. This production takes a very severe approach to this
stretch that, aside from a clever twist at the end, felt
unrewarding.
That should not keep anyone who is fond of this play away from
this production which has so many things to recommend it, not the
least of which is Alan Blumenfeld’s bravura performance in that
most choice of roles Jean. He simply steals the show.
THEATER: "Rhinoceros" runs through Jan. 11 at the Odyssey
Theater, 2055 S. Sepulveda. For more information, call (310)
477-2055.