Review: Woyzeck (The Hypocrites)

True to form, Sean Graney creates another ‘beautiful murder’

The Hypocrites present

Woyzeck

Written by Georg Büchner Directed by Sean Graney Music by Kevin O’Donnell at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division (map) through May 22  |  tickets: $21-$28  |  more info

Reviewed by Dan Jakes

When Georg Büchner dropped dead in 1837, he left behind a work-in-progress that has since been a powerful draw for artists and academics…and an even bigger pain in the neck for editors. The original script for Woyzeck–that’s an assumed title, by the way; Büchner never had the chance to choose one himself–was a scribbled hodgepodge of fragments and scenes chronicling a layman’s transformation into a killer written on unnumbered pages.

Performing the text as-is is not an option, at least not a compelling one. Producing this soldier story takes a heavy-hand, a willingness to make a directorial mark, and some serious cojones.

Enter Sean Graney.

The Hypocrites artistic director has developed a knack for bold theatre and ranks among the most exciting directors working in Chicago. Graney possesses the ability to unearth the hearts of classic texts and translate them to contemporary audiences by employing an arsenal of visceral elements. In this Woyzeck, he plays maestro–soundscapes, a dumb show, and music by Kevin O’Donnell help forward the plot and give body to heady expressionist ideas. His adaptation streamlines what Büchner left meandering. His rewrites, rearrangements, and omissions are always with clear purpose and are always for the better.

The title tragic hero, played by Geoff Button, is given the full Job treatment from his country, his colleagues and his wife. Subjected to inhumane medical experiments, degrading work conditions and an ungrateful spendthrift spouse, Woyzeck descends into desperation. His misery is amplified by the production’s wry, cruelly detached sense of humor–his child is literally presented as dead weight: a rock.

Visually, it’s captivating. Tom Burch’s set design juxtaposes nature with biohazard plastics in a vast and functional playing space. Dangerous elements get the richest, most appealing colors–appropriate for a show whose characters find beauty in destruction.

The Hyprocrites allow us to pity the tormented protagonist while alienating us just enough to objectively consider the morality of his and our resentment toward his adulteress wife (Lindsey Gavel). Added repetition in dialogue and gestures conveys the soldier’s ability to endure anguish for the people he loves, and suggests a breaking point may be the only solution for escaping the hellish loop of giving-without-return; suggests, but doesn’t dictate. The specific tragic end Graney chooses for his doomed young man leaves some questions open-ended. Unlike in Büchner’s text, they’re the right kind.

Rating: ★★★½

All photos by Ryan Bourque

Artists

Cast

Erin Barlow (Kathë), Ryan Bollettino* (Herr Doktor), Ryan Bourque (Andres), Walter Briggs (Trommelmann), Geoff Button* (Woyzeck), Sean Patrick Fawcett (Captain Hauptmann), Lindsey Gavel (Marie), Zeke Sulkes (Jude-Marktschreier)

*denotes Hypocrites company member

Production / Creative

Georg Büchner (playwright); Sean Graney (adaptor and director); Tom Burch (set designer); Izumi Inaba (costumes); Lee Fiskness (lighting); Kevin O’Donnell (composer); Simone Gianfrancesco (production manager); Tori Jeans (stage manager); Ryan Bourque (fight choreographer), Sarah Mikrut (master electrician/associate lighting designer), Kendra Miller (assistant director), Lisa Uhlig (assistant stage manager),