BWW Reviews: Rediscover THE GUARDSMAN at Kennedy Center

A wealth of talent has come together to produce The Guardsman at the Kennedy Center. It is a handsome production, worthy of any stage in the nation.

Playwright and translator Richard Nelson (Two Shakespearean Actors, Some Americans Abroad) has created a multi-layered dramatic comedy from what the world used to know as a trivial vehicle for two thespians from the Roaring Twenties.

In the program notes, Nelson said he was surprised at Ferenc Molnár's original 1910 play - not the drawing room frivolity made famous by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne as the central couple. Nelson said his new version is "an effort at reclamation" of Molnár's play which contains hints of Pirandello and meta-theatricality and the psychological realism of a fraught relationship, a nod to August Strindberg.

The Guardsman concerns a young couple: she, the languid leading lady; he, the matinee idol. (We never learn their names - perhaps symbolizing that all lovers do their share of acting?) They are the twin toasts of Budapest, circa 1910. The beautiful actress is as well known for her many past lovers as her stage successes. Six months into their marriage, the Actress is restless and her husband suspects she is about to roam once again. Driven by jealously and curiosity, he hatches a plan to head her off at the pass and discover whether she will give into temptation. He takes on the disguise of a manly and courtly guardsman and attempts to woo his presumably unsuspecting wife.

Apparently, with the Lunts in the 1920s and in their 1931 film version, this scenario was the stuff of screwball comedy, a bastardization of Molnár's play. I think Nelson succeeded in finding the dark comedy of The Guardsman. Far from a piece of period fluff, Nelson's newly minted translation aspires to show a passionate relationship, teetering on the cliffs, while showing the absurdity of the disguise plot that serves as the play's engine. Mission accomplished.

However, I saw a play that traversed a fine line between comedy and drama, but couldn't make up its mind which it was. The play's theatricality was inherent but I kept expecting something to shine the spotlight more starkly on the life as theatre/theatre as life metaphor.

The other odd aspect of The Guardsman was the unrealized potential in the relationship between Actor and Actress. As passionate as the actress and actor were supposed to have been for their audiences onstage, I kept thinking their marital relationship owed more to the coolness of Chekhov than the heated passion of Strindberg.

As the Actor, Finn Wittrock cuts a dashing figure, especially in his guardsman persona. Playing opposite him, Sarah Wayne Callies personifies beauty and elegance as the actress. She is no bird in a gilded cage, but a strong, independent woman. They easily inhabit the personas of two young stage luminaries from 1910. I hope their chemistry warms up throughout the production's run.

Supporting Wittrock and Callies are two of New York's finest character actors: Shuler Hensley and Julie Halston. Hensley, a Tony-winner from a revival of Oklahma!, brings charm and impeccable timing as the Critic, one of the actresses unrequited lovers who becomes something of a family retainer. (Was it just me, or did Nelson/Molnár save the best lines for the Critic?) Halston is the confidante and personal assistant for the actress, called Mother. Halston is known for recent Broadway musical appearances and her many years as an associate of Charles Bush, co-starring in Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and Red Scare on Sunset, among others. Halston's stage presence and theatrical know-how certainly adds oomph to the production and her motherly relationship with Callies' Actress is compellingly detailed.

Director Gregory Mosher keeps the dialogue-centric play moving forward in a compelling manner. Mosher's artistic collaborators have also done stellar work to wrap up The Guardsman in full 1910 European splendor. The settings by John Lee Beatty are opulent, as are the detailed period costumes designed by Jane Greenwood. All the production elements contribute to the sumptuous and authentic look of The Guardsman.

The Guardsman is worth a look for the period detail, excellent performances and rediscovery of a lost classic.

The Guardsman

Finn Wittrock, Sarah Wayne Callies, Julie Halston, and Shuler Hensley star in this new production of Ferenc Molnár's play, directed by Gregory Mosher and featuring a new translation by Richard Nelson.

May 25 - June 23, 2013

Eisenhower Theater, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

2 hours, 15 minutes

$54.00 - $95.00

For tickets and information click HERE.

800-444-1324

PICTURED: Finn Wittrock as the Actor and Sarah Wayne Callies as the Actress in THE GUARDSMAN, directed by Gregory Mosher, now playing through June 23 at the Kennedy Center.

LOGO/Kennedy Center PHOTO CREDIT/Scott Suchman

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