Theater review: ‘Circus Welt’ at the Whitefire
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The performers in a nondescript circus are surprised when a learned gentleman approaches their manager to seek employment as a clown. The man has no performing experience but quickly strikes on a laugh-a-minute idea: to be on the receiving end of the other performers’ slaps. Humiliation looms.
Cheery, eh? This deeply pessimistic setup comes courtesy of the deeply pessimistic playwright Leonid Andreyev in his play ‘He Who Gets Slapped,’ written in the crumbling final days of czarist Russia. Recontextualized and somewhat rewritten by longtime L.A. director Pavel Cerny, it is presented as ‘Circus Welt’ at the Whitefire Theatre.
Cerny relocates the action to Germany in 1933, as Hitler snuffs out competition and consolidates power. Correspondingly, the circus performers become a microcosm of the groups persecuted by the Nazis: The dashing bareback rider is a communist; the lady lion tamer is Jewish; two of the clowns are gay; and so on. As the atrocities of the larger world invade the companionable little world of the circus, the situation presents itself for audience comparison to any number of events throughout history.
It’s an intriguing idea, as is the decision to launch each of the play’s four acts with chilling 1933 news updates performed as satirical clown routines. But Cerny lacks the production resources and acting talent to bring his vision fully, hauntingly to life.
Among the ambitiously large cast of 19, those who come closest to delivering what is asked of them are Stephanie T. Keefer as the lion tamer who is at once fierce and sad; Kurt Hargan as a foolish, impoverished count accessorized with Charlie Chaplin-ish bowler hat and cane; and Joshua Grenrock as the slap-happy truth-teller in clown’s guise. But those cast as Nazis, in particular, lack credibility, depriving the tale of menace.
‘Circus Welt,’ Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. 2:30 and 7:30 Sundays only; ends Feb. 14. $25. (866) 811-4111 or www.theatermania.com. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes.