By Judd Hollander
It's not easy to combine the intimate with the epic, but playwright
Paula Vogel has done just that with A
Civil War Christmas, now at New York Theatre Workshop. Set in and around
Washington, D.C. and told in the style of a sweeping tableau, the story looks
at various individuals on both sides of the American Civil War, along with
those caught in between, on a cold Christmas Eve in 1864.
Among those portrayed are President Abraham Lincoln (Bob
Stillman) who is so preoccupied with matters of state he almost forgets a
Christmas present for his wife; said wife Mary Todd Lincoln (Alice Ripley)
still grieving for the death of her son two years earlier and who is prone to
sudden mood swings; Hannah (Amber Iman), a runaway slave trying to head north
with her young daughter Jessa (Sumaya Bouhbal); Decatur Bronson (K. Todd
Freeman), a free man of color carrying a deep bitterness against those responsible
for the fate of his wife; Raz (Rachel Spencer Hewitt), a young Virginia boy
eager to join up with the Confederate Army; Ward Hill Lamon (Sean Allan Krill),
the President's chief of security, determined to protect his boss from an
assassin's bullet; Elizabeth Keckley (Karen Kandel) a Negro seamstress who lost
her son to the war and who is trying to finish multiple holiday orders while
also providing some joy for those less fortunate than herself; and John Wilkes
Booth (Krill) who, with his associates, has some very special plans for Mr.
Lincoln this night.
As the various stories are played out, sometimes with great
detail, sometimes with no more than a few lines, the narrative quickly takes
hold, drawing one into the time period depicted. Told on basically a bare stage,
the cast, all of whom play multiple roles, - including acting as narrators and
effortlessly switching from one part to the next - are able to make the story
come alive, helping to create both a sense of place and allowing the various
characters to seem real quite real. While many of those shown have different
pasts, purposes and outcomes, none feel phony or forced; all coming across
naturally via the dialogue and performances delivered.
The show is also helped by a generous selection of period
music, including Christmas tunes, folksongs (i.e. "Follow the Drinking Gourd"),
and military and patriotic tunes of the day. All of which help to illuminate
the era shown and give one an idea of the amount of research that apparently went
into this project.
At times however Vogel does seem too close to her material,
getting a bit preachy here and there, such when she tries to draw a parallel
about government taking care of its citizens to the present day economic
situation, and there are a few moments in act two that tend to be a bit on the
cutesy side. Additionally, there are a few scenes that would have worked better
spoken instead of sung, and also possibly edited a bit (such as when the
characters search for Jessa and the final outcome in that regard), but for the
most part, the show works very well indeed. Not surprisingly, the smaller and quieter
moments have the most emotional impact, rather than the more sprawling scenes.
There's also some interesting historical information tossed in. Such as how
back then one could simply walk up to the White House, knock on the door and
ask to see the President - a practice long gone. There's also a nice bookend to
the piece with three men at the beginning and end of the show, different characters
each time, reflecting and reminiscing during a quiet moment as they wait for
what the next day will bring.
Tina Landau's direction is very good, helping to move the
story from one setting to another with ease, with no abrupt break during transitions.
The entire cast is excellent, with Stillman doing a good job as Lincoln and
Ripley powerfully putting a relatable face to the mentally and emotionally
tormented Mary. Other standouts include Bouhbal as Jessie, Iman as Hannah,
Kandel as Keckley and Krill in various parts - from Booth and Lamon to Generals
Robert E. Lee and William Tecumseh Sherman.
Costumes by Toni-Leslie James are all nicely done, and the
choice of having period photographs on the wall of the theatre is a nice touch.
A touching if sometimes overlong tale, A Civil War Christmas presents a sweeping story of the many
different people touched by war, as well as the innate goodness, depths of pain
and demands of revenge that they carry inside.
A Civil War Christmas
Featuring: Sumaya Bouhbal (Jessa, Little Joe and others), K.
Todd Freeman (Decatur Bronson, James Wormley and others), Chris Henry (Chester
Saunders, Ulysses S. Grant, John Surratt and others), Rachel Spencer Hewitt
(Raz, Mary Surratt and others), Antwayn Hopper (Walker Lewis, Jim Wormley and
others), Amber Iman (Hannah, Rose, Mrs. Thomas and others), Jonathan-David (Ely
Parker, Silver, Frederick Wormley, Mosey Levy and others), Karen Kandel
(Elizabeth Keckley, Willy Mack and others), Sean Allan Krill (Robert E. Lee,
William Tecumseh Sherman, John Wilkes Booth and others), Alice Ripley (Marry
Todd Lincoln, Lewis Payne and others), Bob Stillman (Abraham Lincoln, Raider
and others)
Written by Paula Vogel
Musical Supervision and Arrangements: Daryl Waters
Musical Director: Andrew Resnick
Scenic Design: James Schuette
Costume Design: Toni-Leslie James
Lighting Design: Scott Zielinski
Sound Design: Jill BC Du Boff
Incidental Music: Daryl Waters
Dialect Coach: Deborah Hecht
Production Stage Manager: Lori Lundquist
Directed by Tina Landau
New York Theatre Workshop
Information: www.nytw.org
Closed: December 30, 2012
Running Time, Two Hours, 30 Minutes, with one
intermission
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