In the UW School of Drama production of Harp Song for a Radical, director Jeffrey Fracé has used the book by Marguerite Young as an springboard to explore "popular American themes of political discourse, activism and radicalism. Questions of fidelity to material aside, there are three problems with a springboard approach. The first is that the springboard itself may not be sturdy. The second is that the springboard may launch its creators into a pool that is much too deep for them to swim. The third is the converse of the second: that the pool may be too shallow.

The cast have collectively created a poetic attempt to approach the material in Marguerite Young's book. The historical stories exist as hallucinatory episodes in the lives of two campaign workers that function like visitations from ghosts a la Dickens' A Christmas Carol, doubtless to show them the way, the truth and the light. The visiting ghosts are certainly strong enough: the historical stories of a Washington union organizer tried and convicted as a Communist (radicalized, I think, by his experience of the Lawson Mine Disaster in Black Diamond) and the tale of the notorious Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York are extremely potent. The real problem, though, is that the characters whom these ghosts visit are complete ciphers.

Minerva's scene at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in the second half particularly disappoints. Her arguments for her self-absorption and dedication to a non-issue (or non-dedication to a real issue, if you wish) when put up against Emma Goldman and Lucy Parsons are pathetically weak (and at times factually inaccurate). But even more dismal is that the entire scene, which is probably the most powerful scene of the evening, becomes all about her, when it's clearly not. She makes no real dramatic movement; she simply makes a weak decision. The character of Ben makes a similarly weak decision without either intuition or conviction after his visitation from Eugene V. Debs (and others). No one realistically expects either of the characters to change anything fundamental. It is not too much to ask, however, that there at least be some intellectual commitment to the problem. Here there is nothing. The framing story in which they live, about the rise of a Black American female president for whom they campaign, does not help matters. It is, in a word, trite.

But this is hardly their fault: it is the fault of a peculiar tradition in American dramaturgy, wherein every script needs to have a clear, individual protagonist. To treat the real story about unions, socialism, radical reform and labor rights as though it somehow could be reduced to the individual level is naive in the extreme. Precisely this American naivete is what sinks productions of Brecht, which the UW School of Drama struggled with last year.

Rather than engage the book on any level of real probity, Mr. Fracé has, I think, chosen to let the cast skim its surface. And yet, this cast is so charismatic, it is impossible not to like the production. Scott Ward Abernethy as Ben does some very nice things with his inscrutable character, as does Monique Robinson with her Minerva. But the supporting cast - I hesitate to call them that - are the real strength of the show. Maura Tang particularly surprised me with her abilities in this show, with her distinctive characterizations. Sarah Loveland, too, was finally given a chance to spread her wings a little. Where I found her perplexing and a bit stiff in last season's Picasso at the Lapin Agile, she retained her formal approach here, but performs with an elegance and sensitivity I had always suspected she had but had failed to see in a fine light. And of course Robert Bergin and Phil Kruse are eminently watchable as they always are, always threatening gently to take over whatever stage they are on.

Whatever Mr. Fracé's limitations as a writer, as a director he has a strong sense of motion and stage image, and the images of the cast moving en masse are particularly effective. The play has a smooth polish in all of its technical aspects, aided by Marnie Cumings' neo-expressionist lighting design, without becoming quite slick - and that is a good thing to avoid.

Harp Song for a Radical is a fine opener for the School of Drama's season of "Classics Reimagined." I do look forward to seeing such a marvelous cast again. Perhaps a subtle reminder is in order: that intellect, too, is also tied to the imagination; and that one must always be on guard against being glib when one needs to be profound. This is not a small quibble but it is easy to address. Fine performers deserve fine writing behind them. With so much charm on stage, it would be a downright shame not to accord them with some substance.

Oct 28 through Nov 6 // Meany Studio Theatre at the UW // Tickets $15-18, $10 students, available here

Filed in Arts & Events and tagged emma goldman, eugene v. debs, labor unions, lucy parsons, marguerite young, socialism, theater, theatre, triangle shirtwaist factory

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