At the Walnut Street Theatre
This production has closed.
The collaboration between the Walnut Street Theatre and England’s Derby Playhouse continues to bear fruit with an intriguing stage adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations.” And while it will not wash away memories of David Lean’s marvelous film version, it has the virtue of hewing closer to Dickens’ plot.
It tells the well-known tale of Pip, a poor orphan lad whose fortunes take a decided turn for the better when an anonymous benefactor finances his transformation from rural blacksmith’s apprentice to London gentleman. Unlike Lean’s quasi-happy ending, Dickens’ original version ends with virtually every character realizing that life seldom lives up to our fondest hopes. Or as another great figure in British literature observed, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometime, you get what you need.”
Director Mark Clements, who also did the stage adaptation, has chosen a pared-down approach that skimps on scenery and places considerable burdens on the cast. I dare say this was more a budgetary choice than an artistic one, but the stark black background that frames most of the action takes its toll over the play’s nearly three-hour running time.
Making a virtue of necessity, Clements resorts to a number of inventive, low-tech stage devices to move the story forward. Some work better than others and a few (a brief puppet show, for example) fall flat.
That leaves us with the cast and this is where Clements’ production shines. The company is a mix of British and American actors and it is a tribute to the skills of the Yanks that only the biographies in the program hint at their nationality.
Pascale Langdale as Pip must double as narrator and he handles his dual responsibilities with aplomb. He is a handsome and genial presence who serves the material well and, if nothing else, he must be commended for stamina.
Even better are the character actors who make the most of those juicy characters that Dickens tossed off so effortlessly. Robert Machray (who recently won a best actor award from the LA Drama Critics) is a joy to watch as Jaggers, the brutally logical lawyer with a heart of steel, who represents Pip’s mysterious benefactor. Both rotund and orotund, Machray skillfully offers glimpses of the spark of human warmth that Jaggers hides so well from the world. Also exemplary are Michael Kirk as Wemmick, Jaggers diminutive clerk, Alun Raglun as salt-of-the-earth Joe Gargery, Pip’s adoptive father, and Michael Rudko as Magwich, the transported convict.
This “Great Expectations” is not an easy evening in the theater. It is long and asks its audience to pay close attention. And there are those who (with good reason) question the wisdom of adapting sprawling novels to the stage in the first place. Given the enormity of the task at hand, however, adaptor, director, and cast acquit themselves admirably. Lovers of Dickens and good solid acting will find much to admire. Those who arrive with great expectations will find them dashed.
Runs through April 28, 2002, at the Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut Street (near 9th), (215) 574-3550. www.wstonline.org
