Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

Gangbusters’ Motto: “Staging the modern classics with their original speed and violence.”

In the early 19th century, Georg Büchner, influenced by the true story of Johann Christian Woyzeck, a poor soldier who murdered his common-law wife in a fit of jealousy in 1821, comprised a tragedy about the disadvantaged man. Büchner died of the raging fevers of typhus in 1837, unable to finish his work. To this day, Woyzeck has become the essence of modern tragedy and has influenced dramatic movements such as, Theatre of the Absurd and Expressionism. Its significance in the world of theater history is not to be understated and to witness a live performance is psychologically invigorating. Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck is currently revitalized by The Gangbusters Theatre Company, as updated and directed by Bob McDonald, at FringeNYC.

According to Büchner’s philosophies of the inevitability of man to escape his social and biological environment, his oppression and monotony, the human condition is meaningless. Thus, in Woyzeck, we are reminded, through references to Nature, Science, God, and Man, that there truly is no freewill and man, when forced by extreme conditions, will always act instinctually, as his animalistic self. Each scene episodically portrays a moment in the decaying soldier’s life. Bob McDonald has chosen to adapt the play with a modern flair and to rearrange the scenes, I am guessing, in an effort to emphasize Woyzeck’s insanity. However, in lobotomizing this drifting soldier and scientific guinea pig, The Gangbusters Theatre Company’s version of Woyzeck loses the empathy for Woyzeck and the connection to the universal human condition. Although the production has its weaknesses, Gangbuster’s Woyzeck remains a notable historical work of art.

In this modernized version, the play opens with a child (Brighid Fleming) and the Grandmother (Jacque Lynn Colton*) telling the story of the youth who goes to heaven only to be disappointed by its realism and returns to earth to sulk in silence alone for eternity. As she concludes the story, Woyzeck (Christian Levatino) emerges in an ominous glow surrounded by eerie music carrying a machete. Through the snapshot scenes, we witness Woyzeck being tested in his environment: in the military, in the bedroom, and in science. In this version, he appears to have been lobotomized by the time he reacts in fisticuffs with the Drum Major and commits the murder of his lover, Marie. In expressionistic style, haunting ringing with a low mechanical hum echoes in the background when Woyzeck expresses his murderous visions. But this seems inconsistent with the fact that he has been lobotomized and should be devoid of human thought at this point (according to Bob McDonald’s adaptation). The tragedy concludes with a theatrical Brechtian format that has not been utilized anywhere else in the earlier parts of the production, emerging as cliché and forced.

There are strong theatrical elements and performances throughout the Gangbuster’s Woyzeck, but overall the concept appears underdeveloped and superficial. The chilling music and ambient environmental sounds, designed by Adam Phalen, are beautifully suited to the nature of the play, but they do not fully underscore the action and they rarely serve the transitions well. The lighting, designed by Chad Lefebvre, articulates the expressionistic style through his use of footlights and heavy shadows and utilizes a FringeNYC plot effectively. The challenge in modernizing the costumes becomes how to retain the socio-economic conditions and context of Büchner’s Woyzeck. Katharine Tarkulich’s costume design is simple and functional, but I struggled to believe in the poverty of this god-forsaken community. Bob McDonald’s strength in his direction is in the use of the space. But overall, this production lacks a unified concept.

Remarkable performances are given by Allen Andrews*, Steve Hamm*, Michael Laurie, and Christian Levatino. Allen Andrews* portrays a feeble Captain with convincingly “melancholic” traits. Steve Hamm’s* domineering Drum Major has an attractive, brutish quality, as he swaggers towards Marie and a violent aggressive superiority as he imposes militaristic force. Michael Laurie charms the audience at first with his delightfully naïve scientific process, but quickly becomes the menacing mad scientist using Woyzeck for his own game. Christian Levatino, as Woyzeck, is an engaging physical specimen to watch throughout the tragedy. The subtle pulses in his neck and face to show rage and frustration create a deeply tortured soul. Levatino’s adept physical realization, in his hunched shoulders, sunken, vacant eyes, quickstep shuffling, and reactionary aggression, conveys the essence of a deranged patient and soldier. It’s a sinister-pleasure to watch Levatino, as the struggling Woyzeck, encounter the challenges to his character in each scene.

The Gangbusters Theatre Company has successfully brought Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck back to the stage for The New York International Fringe Festival. Although the adaptation and interpretation may lack cohesion, I do appreciate the value of preserving the modern tragedy. It is worthwhile to be able to see an epic production such as this in FringeNYC at all, due to the production limitations of the festival. So, indeed, see Woyzeck for yourself, and if you can let the technicalities of concept slide, you’ll have an enjoyably tragic experience.