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 Highly RecommendedReviewed by Lawrence Bommer on October 15, 2012 EVIL WILL TRAVEL In his great works, like Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, and even in his lesser efforts, such as Broken Glass, Arthur Miller forces us to confess a greater loyalty than those based on our obvious ties to family, class, and country. He asks us to honor our ideals, and further challenges us to admit that those ideals aren’t ours alone. Now enjoying a clear-cut, compelling revival at Redtwist Theatre (where it was first performed in 2004), Miller’s late work, Broken Glass, affirms the vitality of self-knowledge. Here it is the imperative of a successful banker that he accept his Jewish identity so that his wife can stop living in fear. The play equally honors Dickens’ prescription to Scrooge: “Mankind is our business.” Set in November 1938 immediately after Kristallnacht (a Holocaust rehearsal when Nazi thugs looted and wrecked 7,000 Jewish shops and synagogues), Miller’s metaphorical situation confronts us with Sylvia Gellburg, a middle-aged Brooklyn housewife who suddenly, through no apparent cause, loses the use of her legs. An ideological mystery, Broken Glass offers conflicting explanations for Sylvia’s paralysis, ultimately leaving it up to audience members to decide which one they prefer. Half in love with Sylvia himself, her doctor is convinced that marital discord accounts for her affliction. Mired in denial of his Jewish heritage, her husband Phillip thinks Sylvia crippled herself by reading, and taking personally, the Nazi abuses of their fellow Jews. Both, it seems, are right. Possessed by a dread that reminds her of a dead fetus, Sylvia feels what too many Americans did (do) not: A vulnerability to atrocities inflicted on others. Seeing the picture of two elderly Jewish gentlemen forced to clean a German street with toothbrushes, she loses any protective illusions of inviolability. But her fear is closer to home than Phillip realizes. Sylvia feels threatened precisely because Phillip pretends that he is not: in a sad case of blaming the victims, he condemns the German Jews for bringing on their troubles themselves. Perversely, Phillip’s denial of his Jewish identity makes him suspicious of anti-Semitism in his boss, a paranoia that ultimately undoes him. But it also breaks him down, enough so that he and Sylvia can finally cure each other. Alternately discursive and melodramatic, Broken Glass is a tad too eager to explain the mysteries it presents. For all Miller’s specificity about its unhappy sexual problems (complete with the Freudian baggage of female hysteria), this troubled marriage must carry a heavy load of psychosocial significance, enough to strain the credibility of the characters. Directed by Michael Colucci and Jan Ellen Graves, Redtwist’s sympathetic staging wisely lets five strong actors prove their mettle. Dignified in her principled anguish, Jacqueline Grandt’s radiant Sylvia – a 1938 Cassandra envisioning the concentration camps to come – offers more than just a case of hypersensitive shell shock; her compassion is a benchmark to judge our own moral shortfalls. Playing Phillip as a repressed control freak, Neal Grofman, generous in his self-laceration (reminiscent of Jack Lemmon at his most exposed), still makes us care for this damaged self-hater. As her too-caring doctor, Colucci steers clear of medical malpractice to suggest a good man aching to give Sylvia a love he knows she needs. Effectively suggesting Miller’s surrounding humanity are Joe Schermoly’s period-defining design and kClare Kemock’s accurate costumes. Back to top  ★★★★Arthur Miller’s late work, regarding the American reaction to the rise of the Third Reich, receives a blistering revival at Redtwist. Reviewed by Emily Gordon In a Jewish neighborhood in 1938 Brooklyn, Sylvia Gellburg (Jacqueline Grandt), literally paralyzed by the rising Nazi horror, seeks help from the genial, assimilated Dr. Harry Hyman (Michael Colucci). On the page, Arthur Miller’s 1994 play is an urgent capsule of sexual, ethnic and political mores (and perhaps an indictment of America’s own paralysis in regard to the Jews), but Redtwist’s smart and big-hearted production catapults it into life. Neal Grofman is outstanding as Sylvia’s husband, Phillip, who sucks up to his WASP boss and hates himself; Grandt meets his wounded outbursts with steely grace. Joe Schermoly’s set allows half the audience to see the hazy outlines of the other half across the stage, an apt reminder of humans’ abiding duty to our own kind. Back to top  Highly RecommendedReviewed by Tom Williams Powerful performances propel Miller’s last great play As they did in 2001 and 2004, Redtwist Theatre mounts a fine production of Arthur Miller’s (1915-2005) 1995 drama, Broken Glass. Written when Miller was nearly 80, Broken Glass deals with an identity crisis by a middle aged Jewish couple that turns into a mystery. Why is Sylvia Gellburg (Jacqueline Grandt) paralyzed from the waste down when medically she seems fine? Why does Phillip Gellburg (Neal Grofman) come off as attacking, argumentative and self-loathing? What does the horrible news of Kristallnacht in Berlin in November of 1938 so upset Sylvia that she seems obsessed with fear that the attacks on Jews could come to her Brooklyn neighborhood? When Dr. Harry Hyman (Michael Colucci), a neighborhood general practitioner, is asked to help ‘cure’ Sylvia, he becomes a tad too involved with Sylvia, or so Phillip thinks. This mystery drama is layered with nicely woven plot lines involving sexual impotency, years of guilt, and loads of fear. Phillip’s self-loathing at being a Jew and his guilt for not allowing Sylvia to have a working career ruins any intimacy between the couple after the birth of their only child. When Sylvia’s ailment happens, Dr, Hyman investigates: Is it fear of Phillip or fear of repression toward Jews that fuels her paralyzes? The mystery unfolds revealing the complications of a loveless marriage and repression can take its toll on both the repressed and the repressor. Arthur Miller dramatized how fear, lack of love, and self-hatred can , over time, destroy a family. This is the last terrific work Miller penned. It unfolds through several riveting performances. Michael Colucci is the warm, steady, understanding doctor while Jacqueline Grandt is believable as the psychosomatic paralyzed wife. But the performance that jumps out as mesmerizing is Neal Grofman’s powerful, emotionally wrenching take on the repressed Phillip. Grofman is outstanding here. The production moves along building the suspense as we try to guess the causes and consequences of both Sylvia’s ailment and Phillip’s rage. The Redtwist Theatre production is first-class theatre. Don’t miss it. Back to top  Recommended, Short List Reviewed by Keith Griffith On the day after Kristallnacht, the New York Times headline waffled: "Nazis smash, loot and burn Jewish shops and temples until Goebbels calls halt," it read—as if Hitler's virulently anti-Semitic propaganda minister were the voice of restraint. The muted world response to this gruesome rehearsal for the Holocaust plays out on a personal level in Arthur Miller's penetrating 1994 script, set in 1938 Brooklyn. A hard-driving businessman but conflicted Jew, Phillip Gellburg is baffled when his wife's obsession with events in Germany appears to paralyze her from the waist down. ... superbly cast remount of the show Redtwist produced in 2001 and 2004. The 2004 Gellburgs, Neal Grofman and Jacqueline Grandt, reprise their roles with vivid emotional realism. Back to top  Ten Must-See Plays This article appears in the October 2012 issue of Chicago Magazine. 9. Broken Glass, Redtwist Theatre The scrappy storefront company typically delivers incendiary intensity on its teeny stage—which bodes well for this rarely produced Arthur Miller play. Also a draw: leading lady Jacqueline Grandt, the breakout star of Redtwist's Bug. Back to top  The New Season: Once again, Redtwist will assemble shards of Miller’s ‘Broken Glass’ By Lawrence B. Johnson Redtwist Theatre’s founding artistic director Michael Colucci hopes the third time will be the charm as he attempts once again to find a Chicago audience for Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass” – the launch piece for a 2012-13 season that also spotlights the Chicago premieres of Lee Blessing’s “Body of Water” and Leslye Headland’s “Reverb.” First produced in 1994, and nominated for a Tony Award for best play, “Broken Glass” deals with a mid-life Jewish couple living in Brooklyn in 1938. When news comes of the Nazi pogrom known as Kristallnacht, in which thousands of Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were pillaged across Germany and Austria with unofficial government sanction, the distraught Brooklyn woman suffers sudden paralysis. A doctor believes the cause to be psychological and begins to explore the woman’s personal issues, revealing a web of circumstance. Redtwist, established in 1994, originally produced “Broken Glass” to open its 2001-02 season, just days before the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The show drew little attention. In 2004, Colucci and company tried again. “But nobody really knew who we were, so nobody came,” he says. “It feels unconsummated. It’s a powerful play, so we’re giving it another shot.” The 2012-13 season in brief:
Redtwist Theatre, which began life in 1994 as Actors Workshop Theatre, moved to its present location, at 1044 W. Bryn Mawr in the Bryn Mawr Historic District of Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, in 2002. “We want our patrons to feel they’ve had a unique experience at a Chicago storefront theater,” says Colucci , who proudly notes that the tiny venue’s 40 seats are large, cushioned chairs and that occasionally – as in “Pillowman” during the 2009-10 season – seating capacity gets shrunk to less than 30. “It’s a warm, homey feel.” Amen to that, says Goodman Theatre associate producer Steve Scott, who directed Redtwist’s opening show each of the last four years and was going to make it five this season with “Broken Glass” until he was sidelined by a foot ailment. (Colucci and his producing partner and wife Jan Ellen Graves took over to co-direct the show.) “I do love the space,” says Scott. “It’s so intimate you have a chance to involve each person in the audience almost individually in the action of the play. In a larger house, even with just 200 seats, the viewer can pull back, but at Redtwist there’s no turning away. That can be great fun or, depending on the play, really painful as that small room seems to become even smaller.” Back to top  Redtwist's "Broken Glass" Interview by Sarah Terez-Rosenblum on October 16, 2012 Redtwist Theatre may be small in size, but since 1994, they’ve broadcast impressive ambition, producing a cavalcade of notable shows. Now, the storefront theatre heads into fall with Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass, a gripping drama about a New York couple in Kristallnacht’s aftermath. OUR TOWN spoke with founder and Artistic Director Michael Colucci and star Jacqueline Grandt. OUR TOWN: Broken Glass is one of Arthur Miller’s later plays, not as frequently performed as earlier ones. Why did Redtwist chose to produce it not once but twice? Michael Colucci: Broken Glass was—and still is—a buried treasure by the master American dramatist, written in 1994 during his golden years of full wisdom at age 79. We chose to produce [the play] in 2004, our first full season in our Bryn Mawr space. At that time, we were a relatively unknown resident company and thus very few people saw Jacqueline [Grandt]'s compelling performance as Sylvia Gellburg. Since then, she has become Redtwist's leading lady and one of the finest actresses in town. And so we felt it was imperative for her to revisit the role. Now that Redtwist has a bit of a following, many more people will see her exciting interpretation of this passionate and uniquely intriguing character. OT: Jacqueline, what’s it like to revisit an old part? Jacqueline Grandt: It is truly amazing! I didn't go back and review my previous script or look at the DVD. I wanted to allow a fresh perspective and take advantage of my added experience on stage, as well as my own personal life experiences, to create a new character, one which I believe is fuller and more complete than before. OT: Obviously you’re playing a character pretty far removed from your experience. What are you doing to prepare? JG: I did a lot of research on the era itself, as well as research on hysterical paralysis, which Sylvia suffers from. I discovered that the author of a book she is reading in the play, Anthony Adverse, suffered from shell shock, which is very similar to hysterical paralysis. It certainly isn't difficult to be frightened by the horrific articles and pictures of Germany at that time. OT: How did the dramaturge serve in prepping all of the actors for the show? JG: The research on each and every part of the script is so necessary and our dramaturg, Cassandra Rose, did an excellent job. I worked with her on Bug last year and she is wonderful! Thorough, thought provoking...it truly helps in shaping any character. OT: Are there specific onstage moments you can point to over the course of your career during which you felt the way growing up you’d imagined an actor feeling? JG: Yes. I believe it's the times that I've been in a scene where you actually feel the audience holding their breath...where you can feel their eyes watching and feeling every emotion you put forth. Those are the moments that I believe all actors live for. OT: What are your feelings on Chicago’s theater scene? JG: I believe its reputation is well deserved. We produce some of the very best live theatre in the country. Redtwist is signature Chicago because it gives you the "up close and personal" theatre that you don't see very often. I'm so very proud to be part of that! Back to top  Well-written dialogue, intensely drawn characters highlight Miller dramaReview by Joy Campbell Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” It’s fitting, then, that a play about the crippling effects of fear takes place in 1938, during FDR’s presidency. The story revolves around Sylvia Gellburg (Jacqueline Grandt), a woman who has suddenly and for no apparent reason lost all feeling in her legs and can no longer stand or walk. Her husband, Phillip (Neal Grofman) takes her to local physician Dr. Harry Hyman (Michael Colucci) to determine what ails her, but when Dr. Hyman can find no physical basis for the illness he begins to suspect psychological causes. Sylvia, who is Jewish, has become obsessed with newspaper reports of abuse by European Jews at the hands of the Nazis. Dr. Hyman believes that this obsession holds the key to understanding what he believes to be a hysterical illness. The events overseas have triggered something personal in Sylvia, but what? Those who enjoy a good mystery will appreciate the typically Miller-esque manner in which clues tantalizingly unfold and pieces slowly come together to bring a complete picture into focus. The play’s title is a reference to the German pogrom of Kristallnacht, or The Night of Broken Glass, when windows of Jewish establishments were smashed all across Germany. It can also be seen as a reference to the mirror in which self-hating Phillip Gellburg sees his loathed “Jewish face,” and as a metaphor for the destruction of Sylvia’s carefully built life of self-denial, constructed to protect others. The central theme here is fear: Sylvia’s unnamed, crippling fear; her husband’s fear of rejection because he’s a Jew; Dr. Hyman’s fear of his attraction to Sylvia, and his wife’s fear of his attraction to other women. Miller also works in some good social commentary. When Sylvia cries out against the injustices perpetrated overseas, her husband can’t understand why she takes it so personally, but does boast that he’s the only Jew to ever be hired by his company. Dr Hyman had to study medicine in Germany, as American universities had quotas on Jews. Both men fail to see the connection between their own experiences at home and the situation unfolding abroad, and their obtuse attitudes only exacerbate Sylvia’s distress. I don’t want to give away the play’s discoveries and resolution, but Miller does a good job of commenting on the ways in which people persecute themselves and, by extension, the people they love. Delicately building his story through progressively revealing dialogue, he deftly brings out the complexity in each person. Jeff-Award-winner Jacqueline Grandt, as Sylvia, creates a genuinely moving woman who makes us feel her anguish as well as her frustration, while never coming across as a weak victim. As her volatile and short-tempered husband Phillip, Neal Grofman is so tightly wound that the stage vibrates with tension whenever he is on it. Phillip is perhaps the most complex of all the characters, and Grofman does an excellent job of bringing sympathy and vulnerability to an often abrasive personality. As Dr. Hyman, Michael Colucci emanates such a calm, professional and caring manner that I found myself wanting to spend an hour in his office pouring out my woes.... Susan Fay ably plays Dr. Hyman’s wife, Margaret, the non-Jew from Minnesota who injects a happy, hearty balance to the story. Likewise, Sylvia’s down-to-earth sister, Harriet, is an uncomplicated, candid woman who acts as Sylvia’s spokesperson. Robyn Okrant’s performance is sweet and engaging. As Stanton Case, Phillip’s boss, Mike Nowack has the smallest role, yet is a commanding presence in every scene in which he appears. Thanks to dialect coach Eva Breneman, the believable New York/Brooklyn accents are a delight to hear. Joe Schermoly’s set is simple and effective: a few prop changes converts the small performance space from a doctor’s receiving room to a bedroom to an executive’s office. The action is carried out in the center, with the audience seated on two sides. Co-directors Michael Colucci and Jan Ellen Graves do a superb job of using the space to good and natural effect. If you are a fan of well-written dialogue and intensely drawn characters, and if you enjoy a good enigma, Redtwist’s Broken Glass will not disappoint. Back to top  Highly Recommended★★★★ Reviewed by Al Bresloff Redtwist Theatre, that little storefront on Bryn Mawr , is one of my favorites when it comes to utilizing a small space for bringing audiences exciting theater. Their current production, Arthur Miller’s “Broken Glass” is one that has a great deal of sentimental value to this troupe, as it was the first production in their first full season at the Bryn Mawr location. They had previously done it at Victory Gardens back in 2001. This is one of the lesser known Miller plays and was first produced back in 1995, so it was one of his later works. The title represents “Kristallnacht” (the night of the broken glass) that took place during November 9th and 10th of 1938 in Poland, and the story deals with this period of time, but in Brooklyn New York. The Gellburgs, Phillip (Neal Grofman) and Sylvia (Jaqueline Grandt) are a married Jewish couple, that to all around them seem like an ordinary couple. By the way, both of these actors are the original players in the original production. It seems that they have a problem. In the opening scene, Phillip is meeting with Dr. Hyman played by Michael Colucci, who also directs this production with Jan Ellen Graves (Colucci directed the original as well as played this role) to find out what is wrong with Sylvia. It seems that her legs will not function despite nothing being wrong with her. Dr. Hyman explains that there is no physical reason for this illness and that it may in fact be mental. The story then goes on to analyze what may be the cause of this baffling illness and in the exploration, we learn a great deal about each of the individuals. What appears to be a normal family, is not all that we thing it is and each of the characters has some personal problems that are self contained, each not being able to share. Part of what starts the illness is what is going on in Germany, Sylvia feeling that her safety is unsure and Phillip, who almost tries to hide his Jewishness, feeling that it will be fine. Along the way we see that Phillip is proud of being Jewish only when it represents something special, but otherwise feels that the world around him is anti-semetic. Smoothly directed by Colucci and Graves, who have a firm grip on the play, on a wonderful set (Joe Schermoly makes great use of the tiny stage) this is two plus hours of pure Arthur Miller with a cast that conveys the story with honesty and feeling. Mike Nowak takes on the role of Phillip’s employer, Susan Fay as Dr. Hyman’s wife, Margaret and Robyn Okrant as Sylvia’s sister Harriet (she is the comic character, but also reveals a great deal about her sister and brother-in-law as Dr. Hyman explores the cause of this illness. I am not one to give away the ending of a well written story, so I will only tell you that this is about relationship, love and honesty. These could be real people, people that you may know with problems that are self contained. Identity crisis for Phillip, lack of affection and respect for Sylvia, and a Doctor who is in fact a womanizer, but it is his caring and concern that opens up Pandora’s Box for the Gellburg family. This is a very impressive production from start to finish.The lighting by Christopher Burpee adds to the effectiveness as does the sound and incidental music chosen to be used and the amazing props assembled by Jeff Shields along with the costuming by kClare Kemock all make this multi-scene play work on this small stage. The stagehands and actors keep the flow of scenes to a minimum of time and Ms Grandt never goes out of character. As the scenes change, if she exits, it is back to the wheel chair and off. This is not easy and she handles it flawlessly. I suggest that if you love Miller, you get over to see this sterling production, one that will make you think , as it is only running through November 18th (just think, during the anniversary of the Kristallnacht). Back to top Deep cuts leave souls bleeding in Redtwist’s close perspective on Miller’s ‘Broken Glass’ ★★★Review by Lawrence B. Johnson Phillip Gellburg is a hard-working Brooklyn real estate broker who views the fact that he’s Jewish with a discomfiture bordering on paranoia. But it’s his wife Sylvia who goes off the deep end in Arthur Miller’s 1994 play “Broken Glass,” now in a run at Redtwist Theatre that’s more than metaphorically shattering. It’s November 1938, and the front pages of newspapers are splashed with reports and pictures of the spreading Nazi pogroms against Jews in Germany and Austria as they progress swiftly from violent to debasing and lethal. In Sylvia Gellburg, the news accounts, and especially the photographs, elicit acute alarm and fear – and this perfectly healthy woman becomes suddenly paralyzed, unable to walk. Is this an unconscious reaction to events taking place thousands of miles away? Maybe. But when Phillip consults with a doctor about his wife’s condition, he gets a surprising assessment: not exactly a diagnosis, but a wise observation: that family illnesses often come in twos and threes, and more people may be infected than meet the eye. The doc’s experienced truth is the launch point for a drama that peers deeply into such fundamental issues as self-respect and love, and how the breakdown of the one can derail the other. Neal Grofman and Jacqueline Grandt make a credible, volatile, tragic pair as a man flailing against the world and his heritage and a woman who senses a terrible threat she cannot freely acknowledge or describe. Grofman’s Phillip is a sober, no-nonsense fellow, practical, circumspect and humorless. When the doctor (played with mellow directness by Michael Colucci) explores a possible correlation between the oppression and Jews in Europe and Sylvia’s paralysis, Phillip reacts with impatient annoyance. And when the insightful physician suggests that Phillip might consider showing his wife more warmth and affection, the attempt quickly veers into a harrowing outburst of accusation. Suffering is a shared commodity in the Gellburg household. As the woman terrorized by remote horrors, Grandt offers a complex performance that hints at subsurface vitality in a body incapacitated. If we see this story largely through Phillip’s eyes, it is Grandt’s eloquently drawn Sylvia that mirrors his dark reality. Here is a woman bereft, indeed terrified, crippled, spiritually neutralized by something so dreadful that she can’t call it by its right name. Yet there are potential speed bumps in the drama’s course, and Redtwist’s production – directed jointly by Colucci and Jan Ellen Graves – does little to smooth them out. Unlike the exchanges between Phillip and the doctor, and Phillip and his wife, where we see a deeply troubled man awash in his self-loathing, there’s an aura of calculated setup in Arthur Miller’s treatment of other encounters. ...Robyn Okrant is a constant delight as Sylvia’s burbling sister, whose wholesome directness forces some fresh air into the world of this suffocating woman. When Okrant is in the room, the pulse of this show quickens. The compressed intimacy of Redtwist’s space magnifies the intensity of the best scenes, and designer Joe Schermoly’s practical set scheme takes advantage of this closeness, sharpening our sense of the world closing in on Sylvia. You come away from the experience with the torment of these two souls emblazoned on your mind, like a photographic flash that has caught you wide-eyed and unawares. |
