“An Enemy of the People” is devastatingly powerful. This production grabs hold of you and takes you on a turbulent journey that you will not soon forget.
What would you do if you were a doctor who realizes that the company you work for has a product that is deadly? You have proof of the danger, and you go to the local press and the mayor, who happens to be your brother with whom you don’t get along but to whom you look for support. What happens when you not only don’t get the support, but the corrupt mayor then turns your allies into your foes?
Playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre (W. 50th Street), the perfect space for it because the audience surrounds the stage, this riveting play by Henrik Ibsen features a new version by Amy Herzog. The direction by Sam Gold is phenomenal.
A small town in Norway has visitors who come there for the healing waters, but Dr. Thomas Stockmann, realizing something is not right, sends samples of the water out for analysis. The report he gets back gives him no moral dilemma: He knows the right thing to do is to bring the danger to the attention of the people, the newspapers, and his brother the mayor. But doing the right thing is not always that cut and dried.
What would people in a town do when their means of income is threatened? What would people in a town do when one man knows the truth and tells it to them, but all they see is the potential financial devastation the revelation would have on the town, so they choose not to see the danger? This play truly shows what happens to a man, his family, and his well-being when he chooses to stick to the truth.
This cast is stupendous. It is led by the incomparable Jeremy Strong, who plays Stockmann. He delivers, on all levels, one of the most engaging, powerful performances you will experience in the theater. Michael Imperioli is tremendous in the role of Peter Stockmann, his brother—the corrupt mayor and one of the heads of the Baths, the town business. Victoria Pedretti is stunning as Petra, the doctor’s daughter, who fully supports her father’s decision to try to protect people from the contaminated water, regardless of the personal cost to their family.
Caleb Eberhardt is remarkable as Hovstad, editor of the local paper. His character at first is fired up to expose the truth, until he realizes the impact it will have on the town’s poor. Matthew August Jeffers is captivating in the role of Billing, a journalist at the paper who goes whichever way the breeze is blowing. Thomas Jay Ryan is intriguing as Aslaksen, publisher of the paper, who at first supports the doctor, but then turns into one of the Stockmanns’ biggest foes because he is also chair of the property owners’ association and would lose quite a lot of the town had to shut down to repair the water system. David Patrick Kelly is outstanding as Morten Kiil, the doctor’s father-in-law, who has his own motives for wanting the town to fail.
Other capable cast members include Alan Trong and Katie Broad, along with Bill Buell, Daivd Mattar Merten, and Max Roll.
The production has engaging scenic design by dots collective; costume design by David Zinn; lighting design by Isabell Byrd; sound design by Mikaal Sulaiman; and hair and wig design by Campbell Young Associates.
There is no late seating, so make sure you get there before curtain time.
For more info, visit www.anenemyofthepeopleplay.com.
