The story is set in 1827 during the Bourbon Restoration in the
fictional towns of Verrières and Vergy near the French Alps and centers
around the ambitions of the young Julien Sorel (Lucas Wells). Julien is
poor and of the lower class. Much to the chagrin of his peasant
family, he has received an education from an old Napoleonic soldier who
taught him to read and instructed him in history and Latin (and who
left Julien dozens of books at his death) as well as instruction from
the old local priest Chélan (Jeremy Johnson) in theology and advanced
Biblical Latin. Indeed "The Red And The Black"¯is a reference
to the red uniforms of the military and the black robes of the clergy.
Julien's education above his "station"¯combined with his learned
admiration of Napoleon (He often asks himself, "what would Napoleon
do?") and "liberalism"¯and his sense of injustice is arguably the root
of his downfall. In spite of Julien's wish to go to seminary for a
career in the church (because the Army no longer offers young men of
the peasant class the opportunity to rise and better themselves as it
did in Napoleon's day) he becomes tutor to the children of the wealthy
and upper class Mayor de Rênal (Brian Linden) and his wife Louise de
Rênal (Krista Adams Santilli). The maid Elisa (Katie Burton) and
Madame de Rênal both quickly become infatuated with Julien and trouble
ensues. Julien dislikes the de Rênal's materialistic,
aristocratic lifestyle and his "conservative"¯ royalist views and Julien
begins scheme for his own advancement and revenge. His plans are only
derailed when his intelligent, analytical mind is betrayed by his own
passion.
Adapting classical literature for the stage is a challenging
endeavor. Deloss Brown's script focuses primarily on the first half of
Stendhal's novel and nicely captures the spirit of the story. The
unfolding life of Julien Sorel fascinates and keeps the audience
interested throughout. Where Brown's play falters are in a few unnecessary scenes (for example the opening scene where Stendhal and his editor appear, |
Photo by Hunter Canning |
|
commenting on politics--never to be seen again) and
in an inconsistency in style. The play awkwardly shifts between realism
and high comedy leaving the audience confused as to how to respond.
Brown also uses his characters as narrators, which works
effectively in some scenes (for example when Julien and Louise deliver
their inner monologues and they are completely incorrect in their
assumptions about what the other is thinking) but other times the
constant narration becomes a little too much and begins to feel
redundant and we long for more immediate interaction and connection
between people. That being said credit must be given to Brown for
bringing this intriguing and surprisingly entertaining French classic
to the American stage (Stendhal's work, needless to say, is much more
popular in Europe. The Scarlet and The Black was a mini-series for the BBC with Ewen McGregor and Rachel Weisz among other film adaptations).
Lighting (Sarah Lurie), Sets (Ika Avaliani), and Costumes (Lux Haac)
are merely suggestive but support the action of the play. Brown, who
also directs, keeps the pace and the action moving but his staging is a
little clumsy and misses many opportunities for visual variety and
innovation. He has successfully assembled a hardworking cast led by
Lucas Wells who makes a charming and convincing Julien. Excellent
work is also turned in by Krista Adams Santilli as the wealthy Madame
de Rênal who falls in love with Julien against all of her personal
prejudices. Other standouts are Brian Linden who finds all the humor in
his solid portrayal of the oblivious and ineffectual Mayor de Rênal,
Jeremy Johnson as the paternal Chélan and Jessica Myhr as Madame de
Rênal's suspicious friend Marie. The cast is rounded out by Keith
Herron, Katie Burton and Philip Rossi in multiple roles.
Brown's script ends somewhat abruptly and only hints at the rest of the story and Julien's ultimate fate. Still The Red And The Black
proves a worthy subject of adaptation and the play rings with
resonance and relevance for contemporary audiences. Being a new script
with miles of potential one hopes that Brown will continue to refine and
elevate the material (and perhaps make some bold choices and give us
the second half of the novel? Or a sequel? ) If you have an interest in
classic literature, French history or even political class struggle or
comic social satire The Red And The Black may be the theatrical destination for you. | |
