BWW Reviews: EPAC's ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST is Intense Portrayal of Instututional Insanity

Ken Kesey wrote "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" back in 1962. Everyone's familiar with the movie, but fewer with the stage play - and partly, that's because the movie was not based on the play, but directly on the novel, and focused far more on McMurphy, played so notably by Jack Nicholson, and less on the surrounding characters. Kesey had worked as an orderly in a mental health facility, so he knew whereof he wrote when the novel described the institutional process and its own insanity. Dale Wasserman's 1963 stage adaptation of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST kept that vision intact, with Kirk Douglas as the infamous Randle Patrick McMurphy in the first Broadway run (Gary Sinese took the role in the 2001 revival) and Ephrata Performing Arts Center currently brings it to the stage in our area.

This time around, Tim Riggs is directing rather than acting. It's always a joy to see Riggs on stage, as he's simply one of the best dramatic actors in the area. He's a bit less assured in this directing venture, but the results are still well worth audience attention. A great part of that is due to some very fine casting. Christopher Michael is a solid McMurphy, the sane man faking insanity, whose sanity itself feels insane in an institutional setting. Chief Bromden, the Indian whose part is far larger in the play than in the movie since he serves as narrator and monologist between scenes, is played by Evan Cooper. Cooper is, in a word, wonderful, in a difficult part. He's both speaking and hearing, but is believed to be a deaf-mute, and he's very solid at portraying both. His scene at the end, involving both McMurtry and a heavy electrical control box, is beautifully handled.

But what you really ask is, what about Nurse Ratched? Susan Kresge plays Nurse Ratched, bringing her a sense of quiet control - she's the unbending enforcer of the law, who cannot envision anything that means following the rules as being the slightest bit wrong. She cannot be evil, because a world of fixed rules is good. Those rules make no sense to McMurphy, who devotes his time there to destroying them and getting around her. Kresge's Ratched is quietly menacing, until she begins her campaign to see that McMurphy no longer has any power in the ward.

CUCKOO'S NEST is a study in institutional insanity, as well as in growth. The men on the ward grow, from Chief Bromden to Martini (Ed Placencia), as McMurphy challenges their perceived limitations. Kevin Fennell gives a powerful performance as Billy Bibbit, the young patient whose virginity McMurphy seeks to help eradicate, with unintended unfortunate consequences.

Dan Smith's Dr. Spivey is also noteworthy; he brings some fine comedy to the role without losing the doctor's perception that he might still be in charge despite Nurse Ratched's control.

The parts of the novel and of the movie that everyone remembers are also in the play, particularly the World Series scene in which McMurphy gets a democratic vote on the ward to change the television time Nurse Ratched has scheduled so that they can watch the game. The entire scene, which ends the first act, is one of the finest parts of the production, as are Billy's party and the ending. If only it didn't take so long for the production to come to speed; it's slow warming up to the intensity it needs, and that it maintains once it reaches full temperature. Still, overall, it's fiercely intense, and it's still frightening in its all-too-accurate portrayal of both the insanity that grips the "normal" and the normality of what we describe as insane. There has yet to be a better presentation of the insanity that grips institutional regimentation, or the negative effects of concentrating power in the hands of the wrong person.

Riggs' direction is aided by some real talent backstage. Jordan Janota has done a fine job with set design, and Veronica Craig with costumes. Joe Boufford's lighting design works well, additionally, and is especially effective during the party scene.

This is the sort of drama we need more of in this area. Fortunately, EPAC has more of it to come this season, including a much-anticipated AGNES OF GOD and DEATH OF A SALESMAN. At Ephrata Performing Arts Center through April 5. Call 717-733-7966 or visit www.ephrataperformingartscenter.com for tickets.

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