Though Beautifully Set, 'A Picasso' Falls Short of Realizing Its Potential
Posted on: Monday, 5 May 2008, 21:00 CDT
By Jana Eisenberg
"A Picasso," by Jeffrey Hatcher, despite its set-up as a Nazi- interrogation drama, is more of a set-piece/character study. Against the historically repulsive backdrop, its focus is on Picasso and his well-known ego. In the Kavinoky's production, directed by David Lamb, it comes across as a scant construction.
None of the many ways the script and the production could have triumphed are quite achieved; it is neither in-depth enough to shed new light, funny enough to be a comedy, nor deeply dramatic. Running at under one and a quarter hours, and presented with no intermission, the show nonetheless held my attention, perhaps simply for the anticipated "a-ha" moment.
The remarkable set, meticulously designed and decorated by David King with painting by Margie Pantera, depicts an underground vault; huge arches, a massive wooden door with heavy metal hasps, and evocative packing crates. It is perfectly dread-inducing, but, the surroundings are mostly ignored, with a focus on back-and-forth dialogue between the two characters. The sense of menace that could have been palpable is never attained.
At the opening, Picasso is alone in the dungeon. Though obviously uninformed as to why he is there, in John Fredo's portrayal, the emotion conveyed, rather than fear, is impatience. Via recorded voiceover, we hear reports of the German occupation of Paris.
Fredo's iconic artist is potently physical. While seated, his legs are invariably spread wide -- there is no containing his infamous virility; even during "interrogation," he still has power.
Enter Lisa Ludwig, who introduces herself as "Fischer." She is the beautiful German henchwoman, tasked with finding an authentic work by Picasso for her masters' next "degenerate art" bonfire. Ludwig's layered portrayal reveals the character's ambivalence about the job she has to do. She actually is knowledgeable about art and has a human side.
The interchanges between them, however, have a perfunctory feel. This piece is full of art-world cracks, and also has plenty of contradictions, turnabouts and parallels.
"We're all guilty of something," says Fischer right at the start.
Both characters are dressed completely in brown; are they both fascists in their own way? So begin the cat-and-mouse games. She asks him to authenticate several pieces of his work. So he initially, blithely, does. When he finds out, however, that the identification is not for a "group show" as she first tells him, but for a mass burning, he rescinds, claiming all the works she has shown him are fakes.
At one point, she takes an opportunity to try and force Picasso to denounce his most famous and provocative painting, "Guernica." The effort comes across as a shallow machination, as we move quickly to the end, with Picasso sketching Fischer.
The play's culmination melds these two, each with their weaknesses exposed. Two people who should have repelled each other have traversed opposing identities -- like critic versus artist, dominant versus submissive -- and come full circle to their "natural" roles. This is an interesting concept, though not, in either the material or the production, fully fleshed out.
***
"A Picasso"
2 1/2 stars (out of 4)
Drama running through June 1 in Kavinoky Theatre, 320 Porter Ave.
For more information, call 829-7668 or visit www.kavinokytheatre.com.
Originally published by NEWS CONTRIBUTING REVIEWER.
(c) 2008 Buffalo News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Buffalo News
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