By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
Samuel Beckett ‘s one-act monologue “Krapp’s Last Tape” was first staged in 1958. But the play could well become an anthem for the Boomer Generation. That is, if Beckett’s writing was more accessible, and maybe had a rock ‘n’ roll beat.
Imagine something like “Ozzy Osbourne’s Last Tape” and you’ll get some idea of the potential. As Beckett describes Krapp, he sees himself as a depressed writer who fears he may have wasted a lifetime of talent pursuing a muse who couldn’t care less.
With our nation presently paralyzed by philosophical gridlock that has its roots in the 1960s counterculture movement, many of today’s more thoughtful Boomers ought to be pondering a similar question.
Joseph McGrath goes deep into the pathos of Krapp’s own indecision, performing “Krapp’s Last Tape” in The Rogue Theatre’s production of three Beckett one-acts that opened Feb. 26. Looking bleary-eyed and totally distraught, McGrath becomes a man barely hanging on to the thinnest awareness of reality.
David Morden directs all three pieces – with Patty Gallagher in the pantomime-styled “Act Without Words” and Cynthia Meier in “Not I” (who is joined by Gallagher in another wordless role) to complete the bill.
The three plays taken together provide an intriguing portrait of Beckett as a playwright determined to create his own landscapes of logic reduced to their most essential elements. Always described as equally confounding and brilliant, Beckett’s place in literature remains controversial – as will these one-acts.
“Act Without Words” is almost comedy, with Gallagher dressed in black as a nameless character reminiscent of the duo who are so patient in “Waiting For Godot.” Using her career skills as a classic clown, Gallagher becomes the person confounded by life’s possibilities. She’s leaping for success, tumbling over failure. Metaphors pour from the imagery in her acting without words.
“Not I” recalls the famous ad for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” where all we see are those luscious red lips. “Not I” wraps the actor in black, literally, exposing only the actor’s mouth and putting that relatively small space in the heat of the tightly-focused spotlight. The character is named Mouth, and many describe this role as the most difficult in all theater.
Cynthia Meier accepts this challenge in the Rogue production. The performance is called a stream-of-consciousness rant, spoken rapidly without any pauses for reflection. We feel the mental pressure of stressed out souls compulsively running on empty, with all the anxiety that phrase implies…yet never actually running out of gas, thus being denied the relief of having an excuse to stop.
This production does add the mysteriously hooded Auditor (Gallagher) whose only role is to observe Mouth from the edge of the stage. While far more intellectual experts than I ponder the role of the Auditor (as did Beckett himself), my personal preference is to believe the Auditor gives the words of Mouth permanence.
As in “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?” The Auditor makes sure this Mouth is heard.
“Krapp’s Last Tape/ Not I/ Act Without Words” continues Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., to March 14 in The Rogue Theatre at the Historic Y, 300 E. University Blvd. Tickets are $24 general admission; student rush tickets, $12, 15 minutes before curtain; pay-what-you--will nights are Thursdays, March 4 and 11. For details and reservations, 551-2053, or online at www.theroguetheatre.org.
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