BWW Reviews: THE ELEPHANT MAN is a Curiosity, But Far From Intriguing

The name Bernard Pomerance may not be a household one, even among theatre fans, but his only Broadway playwriting credit, The Elephant Man, may be the primary reason why the story of Englishman John Merrick has become such a familiar entry to American popular culture.

Originating from London fringe theatre and then moving from Off-Broadway to Broadway, The Elephant Man nabbed the 1979 Best Play Tony Award and, for a brief period, made a star out of the title role's American originator, Philip Anglim.

And though the new Broadway production, directed by Scott Ellis, is a sturdy meat-and-potatoes mounting, one can't help noticing that the play's dry, clinical style is somewhat alienating. The subject itself - how a man of multiple physical deformities is taken from being a freak show attraction to being a beloved, if exploited, member of society - is one that is capable of immense empathy (visit the St. James revival of Side Show for an example) but Pomerance's script is more of a textbook narrative; interesting, informative but hardly touching.

The central protagonist is the well-meaning scientist, Dr. Treves (a prim and scholarly Alessandro Nivola), who rescues Merrick from being put on display as a sideshow entertainment and unwittingly puts him on display as a well-dressed and mannered gentleman who becomes an object of admiration for bleeding heart socialites. (A nightmare sequence, where Treves imagines himself on display, is cut from this production.)

Bradley Cooper takes on the showcase title role. As scripted, the audience is taken through a presentation of actual photos of Merrick, detailing every disfiguration, which Cooper recreates without the use of prosthetics. Cooper admirably commits himself to the physical contortions of the role and displays understated empathy, but perhaps it's because Merrick's face was incapable of showing emotion that the evening remains cold.

Patricia Clarkson is gracious, with a perfunctory charm as the actress who takes it upon herself to introduce Merrick to her well-bred friends. But their surface politeness and admiration hides a self-serving desire to be seen as open-minded.

Like the subject itself, The Elephant Man is a bit of a curiosity. Not a bad play, but far from an intriguing one, despite its subject.

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