“The Whale” with Actors’ Theatre yields remarkable insights into redemption
Playing at the Spectrum Theater downtown through April 28, the production by Actors’ Theatre brings the story of a dangerously obese man’s attempts at redemption with his estranged daughter.
Actors’ Theatre’s “The Whale” invites us to consider Charlie, a 600 pound recluse, and his attempt at redemption in the eyes of his estranged daughter. Although the prospect of spending two hours with a grossly obese and unhealthy lead character might not sound like a pleasant evening in the theatre, Samuel D. Hunter’s play does yield remarkable insights into the human quest for salvation and this production holds its audience to the end.
Although some characters criticize Charlie’s size and dangerous eating habits, this is not a play about body shaming, but rather a work about overcoming the failure and pain within. Central to “The Whale’s” success are a script that is full of surprises and reversals, and a cast that delivers three-dimensional characters capable of mercurial changes, confounding actions, and startling revelations.
Madeline Jones, as Ellie, presents a frighteningly caustic and ungrateful teenager who challenges both of her parents and the audience’s sympathies. She smokes pot openly and, with a bratty adolescent lilting delivery, trash talks the values her father Charlie (Jason Stamp) holds dear. Jones brings a physicality that is a welcome contrast to her immobile father, as she slouches over a dinette chair or drapes herself languidly across her dad’s walker.
Jason James Flannery, as the nerdy and bespectacled door-knocking Mormon Elder Thomas, is the perfect foil for Jones’ Ellie. Flannery balances the zeal of his faith with enough foibles to make his character an appealing audience favorite and a lightning rod for comic relief and ridicule.
Emily Diener as Liz, Charlie’s friend, portrays the steady normative character that keeps Charlie alive through medical attention and solid moral support. She also is a key link to Charlie’s deceased partner, Allen. The unspoken bond between Liz and Charlie draws us in and makes us want to know more about Allen, a key element of the story.
Charlie’s pill-popping, alcoholic ex-wife Mary, acted by Claire Mahave, is one of the show’s most formidable characters. Her entrance late in the play portends danger and possible overreaching from one who appears desperate and ragged at the edges. Mahave, however, makes a seamless transition to her character’s tender side as she lingers for a moment with ear to her former husband’s massive chest, listening for the faint heartbeat deep below the fat while he recalls the now distant life they once shared.
But in the end, it’s Jason Stamp’s Charlie that provides the glue that holds this production together. Despite being the butt of criticism, wrath, and derision from others, Stamp gives the title role just enough backbone to lift himself off his worn out sofa and serve as a positive force for those around him. Although he apologizes profusely for his mistakes and the weight on his frame, he exudes a positive energy and defies his static condition through the use of his hands, neck, and head.
Although Hunter’s play holds the stage, it has some shortcomings. The play is comprised of numerous (close to 20) scenes, many of which are brief. This inhibits the script from building momentum early on. In addition, the explanation of the death of Allen, Charlie’s boyfriend, seems unsatisfactory. Finally, the play sometimes struggles under the weight of metaphorical stories and heavy handed sound effects related to Jonah and/or Moby Dick.
Credit Director Fred Sebulske, who gets the most out of his cast and the simple box set that comprises Charlie’s shabby cluttered dwelling. Characters revolve planet-like around Charlie, drawn to him by the gravity of past relationships or repelled by what he represents in appearance and decline. Through it all they seem held in orbit by some invisible force, a need that makes them congregate around and return to this mountain of flesh.
By the end of the evening, it seems that these characters, including Charlie, share a common goal: to help, save, or change just one other person. Some succeed, some do not. That’s perhaps the most intriguing facet and the beauty of Samuel D. Hunter’s play.
“The Whale”
Actors’ Theatre at the Spectrum Theater
April 19–22, 26–28
Tickets available online here.
