By: Miguel Trejo
 |
L to R: Willy Ironbar (Brian
O'Neal), Christian Betterman (Bob Hammel), Joe Smite (Jeremy Wendt),
Babette Betterman (Pam Kaufman), Anne (Deanne McDonald) - Photo
courtesy of nimbus |
a nimbus production
February 26th, 2005
running time: approximately two hours with one intermission
A match is lit; smoke fills the air. Christian Betterman scowls at the
audience, his face aglow with self-righteous indignation. Like alchemists,
the members of the nimbus theater group (yes, that’s a lower case
“n”) turn an ordinary looking building in downtown St. Paul
into a fiery hell of comic, thought-provoking theatre.
The Firebugs is a sometimes cynical, sometimes hopeful look at a post-WWII
Germany. Mr. Betterman, an angry hair tonic salesman, and his wife must
cope with a world in which fires run rampant and people live in fear of
“firebugs”. When a homeless ex-wrestler/orphan/son of a coal
burner and his ex-convict/waiter partner smooth-talk their way into the
Betterman’s attic, the couple must decide whether their paranoia
is clouding their judgment as it becomes obvious that there is something
not quite right with their guests. Will they face the truth or turn their
heads away, unwilling to act as everything goes up in flames?
As in a medieval morality play, the character names describe what the
characters symbolize. Betterman wants to be morally superior to others,
at least in appearance. Ironbar is unforgiving and condescending. Underling
never appears on stage, so low is his status. Overall, the actors do well
in representing these aspects of their roles.
Bob Hammel, who plays Christian Betterman, our 20th Century Every Man,
did a good job of portraying Frisch’s blustery, guilt-ridden protagonist.
Hammel exceled when Betterman soared into his tirade against those responsible
for the bad shape of the world -- and against those who might imply he
is one of them. However, sometimes in his enthusiasm he lost focus and
stumbled through some of Betterman’s quieter reflective moments.
The character Joe Smite, the boisterous firebug, played by Jeremy Wendt,
calls for a light-hearted treatment, which it gets. Wendt made Smite immediately
likeable, albeit unsettling, as he congenially shames Betterman into offering
him shelter. The audience could tell that Wendt was thoroughly enjoying
himself as the jovial Smite. However, although Wendt played this aspect
quite well, there were times when his character touched a farcical note
which did not always mesh with what the rest of the actors were doing.
The role of Smite’s counterpart, Willie Ironbar, was taken on masterfully
by Brian O’Neal. He played Ironbar’s smug superiority and
bold-faced contempt for Betterman with a cool hand. As soon as he enters
the scene, Ironbar asserts his control over the house, Betterman, and
even his partner, Joe. His status is further enhanced, quite diabolically,
in the second part of the play.
The other dominant force in The Firebugs is the Chorus of Firemen which
breaks the action of the plot to inject bits of humor, foreshadowing,
cross-examination, and introspection. Under their watchful eyes nothing
is missed, all is judged, and very little is forgiven. With them blocking
his way, Betterman can try to rationalize but his empty lies fall upon
unsympathetic ears. From time to time, the Chorus’s serious air
was broken by its swaggering search about stage for smoke and fire. However,
I feel that the choreography could have been explored a bit further, because,
although the chorus served its main function, I don’t think it was
optimized to its full potential. Regrettably, I have only seen a couple
of productions in which the chorus overcame the tendency to speak in a
monotonous drone or to move rigidly about the stage.
All in all, the actors gave many solid individual performances. However,
as an ensemble there was an initial lack of synergy-- or better yet, resonance.
For the first quarter of the show the actors did not always support each
other that well. Eventually, the cast warmed up and achieved a better
focus as they got into the rhythm of the play. After the intermission
especially, the play picked up in energy, as was evident in a fast-paced
and funny dinner scene in which, without mincing words, the firebugs state
their devious intentions while Betterman and wife do their best not to
believe them.
If you haven’t seen The Firebugs, I strongly recommend it. It is
a darkly comic look at the manner in which people rationalize away responsibility
for their actions or lack thereof; how in a morally ambiguous world where
Nixons are pardoned, Enrons are slapped on the wrist, and lying liars
are re-elected, the Devil can’t help but feel cheated and Hell must
go on strike. However, I would be remiss to only recommend The Firebugs
in this review and not the wonderful theatre group called nimbus. They
are doing great work in the heart of the Twin Cities and you should check
them out.
Miguel Trejo is at migueltrejo00[at]hotmail.com
The Fourth Street Theatre is a nice little hole-in-the-wall
venue that is comforting in its unassuming atmosphere. The sandwich-board
sign which stands outside the building says much about the simplicity
of the space, but can’t do full justice to the activity which goes
on inside. The space is small but suitable, private but welcoming. The
platforms on which the audience sits are not painted and a curtain lies
against a wall waiting to be used. There are very few pretensions to be
maintained in such an honest space, and the audience can rest assured
that they won’t be bamboozled into forgetting what is at the core
of good theater. More information about Fourth Street Theatre, including
future events, can be found at www.theaterspaceproject.org.
Location Info:
4th Street Theater
Artist Info: Josh Cragun
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