The Good Woman of Setzuan
At the heart of all our recent economic troubles is greed. Perhaps, in no other time have we witnessed and experienced the awesome and overwhelming devastation of this particular side of human nature. Greed, in all its insidious forms, can lay waste to oceans. It affects jobs. It punishes the many and rewards the few. It dominates our actions. It clouds our good judgment. Greed can make or break a person, a society and left unchecked, threaten the world with terrible consequences. These are the times we live in—where it will lead us is anyone’s guess.
Brecht poses these age-old moral and ethical questions: Can a good person stay good to others and still protect their own self-interests? Is goodness a virtue or a weakness of character? Are we capable of change? And, more to the point, do we even want to?
Not easy questions to answer even in the best of times, but considering our current state of affairs, it’s impossible not to. At the very least, the Open Fist Theatre Company entertains us with these probing social and personal dilemmas in a way that is highly enjoyable and satisfying. We may not leave the theatre with any answers, but Charles Otte’s extraordinary pageantry and sublime direction hits home the message with gorgeous spectacle and tender feeling.
Brecht’s colorful multilateral parable is set in the pre-communist Chinese city of Sichuan. Three gods seeking shelter for the night enlist the aid of Wong (Michael Franco), a congenial water-seller who knows just about everything about everyone in his community. After some convincing, a prostitute, Shen Te (Lauren Lovett) offers her home for the night. The gods repay her kindness with enough money for her to buy a tobacco shop. Shen Te’s act of selfless generosity appeases the gods in their search for one good person in the world and leave.
No sooner than Shen Te opens her shop do the crushing blows of capitalism threaten to undermine her: there’s the landlady, the carpenter, a gaggle of needy friends, the homeless and all sorts of degenerates looking for a handout. The old adage comes to mind, “a friend in need…” as Shen Te verily attempts to help others even at the risk of jeopardizing her good fortune. She is further used and abused after saving a young, unemployed pilot, Yang Sun (Benny Wills) from hopelessness. His betrayal treats her love like a commodity.
All Shen Te can do to save herself is to invent a savvy and shrewd cousin, Shui Ta, to deal with the problems her good intentions have caused. Eventually, having to disguise herself as Shui Ta, Shen Te’s personality and moral conscience continue to be tested and split in two. Only through her manly guise can Shen Te survive, but the aftermath of her brief love affair forces her hand. As Shui Ta, Shen Te must answer to her/his actions in court, standing accused and defended by her neighbors as the three gods deliberate her punishment.
With original music by Elizabeth Swados, Eric Bentley’s translation gets a lively shot in the arm with vaudevillian-type characters, Kabuki-esque make-up and shabby-chic costumes by Christina Wright. The visual eye-candy alone more than makes up for some of the pacing problems in the overly wrought first act and there is always something to feast your eyes on throughout. Sound effects play a key role accompanied by live music. Set design by Richard Hoover smartly uses the intimate space to full advantage with haunting images projected onto a screen. The set is completely undone and lay bare in the powerfully rousing final musical number that ends this play with a solid bang.
Exquisite body movement and choreography by Jan Munroe and Michael Franco with Tango choreography by Becca Cousineau lend some intriguing tableaus to the numbers and throughout the scenes. Much infectious energy and enthusiasm steadily rises and falls in the musical numbers particularly in Song of the Smoke, The Song of St. Nevercome’s Day and Song of the Eighth Elephant along with the triumphant finale in the Epilogue.
The sensational cast carefully teeters between Brechian caricature with their painted faces and exaggerated movements and fully realized characters. They are, by the play’s conclusion, successful, finding moments of humanity—both touching and cruel.
Michael Franco is pure delight as Wong, impish and full of verve. The three gods (Alexander Wright, Robert George and the precious Katherine Griffith) lend a bumbling distinction to their roles. Wills solidly comes into his own as the manipulative pilot by Act II. The cast is rounded off with some excellent turns by the perfectly cast Bruce Dickinson as the Carpenter, Phillip William Brock as a British and buffoonish Policeman, Beth Robbins as Mrs. Shin, and Tom Burruss as Unemployed Man.
Lauren Lovett seamlessly transitions with only the aid of an imposing mask and one onstage wardrobe change between her two halves. Her tenderness shines through as eager Shen Te matched by her sweet voice and graceful femininity. As Shui Ta, her body gestures of a swayback, long strides and her deep baritone bellows are all but completely convincing—a challenge for any actor in this role. Lovett charms and evokes our sympathy while taking advantage of some laughs in her alter ego. She is simply a joy to watch in either persona—proving her sensitive and tireless versatility.
There are so many reasons to see this show now. The timeliness is only the most obvious. Brecht fans will not want to miss this visceral, intelligent production. And for all the rest, let me appeal to your greed…an evening of such outrageous and eclectic entertainment will leave you feeling richer indeed.
“The Good Woman of Setzuan”
Runs through July 17
The Open Fist Theatre
6209 Santa Monica Blvd.
LA, 90038
PH: 323-882-6912
www.openfist.org