Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play, An Enemy of the People,is particularly timely in 2012. This fiery Manhattan Theater Club revival by Rebecca Lenkiewicz at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater sharply articulates the wishes of the majority faced with the inconvenient corruption of environmental threats. What seems like hands-down common sense and the common good is threatened when the dirty word, “tax,” steps in and muddles the meaning of who is actually the “enemy.”
Doug Hughes sleekly directs Lenkiewicz’s slimmed-down version of the Ibsen work, stimulating the tension and energy between two brothers with disparate aims whose beliefs bitterly divide the town. Sitting on the southern coast of Norway, this town is dependent upon its spas that draw in tourists and attracts income. Boyd Gaines portrays Thomas Stockmann, an idealist medical director whose new job has finally enabled him to set his family on a firm financial footing after years of struggle.
Problems arise when Thomas discovers that the spa water is contaminated by corporate waste. When he announces his discovery to his wife, Catherine (Kathleen McNenny) and two friends, Hovstad (John Procaccino) the editor of the town’s newspaper, and a printer, Aslaksen (Gerry Bamman), they congratulate him. Thomas starts to believe that when the whole town hears his news, everyone will celebrate him as a hero, a heady thought that excites him, despite his characteristic humility.
It is Thomas’ brother, however, the town’s mayor, Peter (Richard Thomas), who stands in his way. A savvy, smug politico with confident aggressiveness, Peter insists that Thomas keep his water pollution findings quiet because if the spas are closed down, the town will lose its income. Peter warns Thomas of dismissal from his post if he persists and his family will again be destitute.
Peter and Thomas argue the complexities of the issues with fierce, blaring anger. Richard Thomas, while flashily dressed in Catherine Zuber’s dashing attire, plays Peter with a restrained face of arrogant superiority. Boyd Gaines as Thomas is compelling in his passion and determination that the spa must be closed. He insists on defending his findings and is outraged that the majority of citizens are ignorant in refusing to follow the intelligent path of the more enlightened. With stereotyped good guys versus bad guys, the impassioned arguments are riveting. Hovstad, the editor and Aslaksen, the printer, once Thomas’ allies, turn against him. Even his father-in-law, the wealthy Morton Kiil (Michael Siberry), cannot support Thomas who is attacked as, “an enemy of the people.” Despite his high principals, however, it is hard to sympathize with Thomas’ tempestuous self-righteousness.
McNenny, as Thomas’ wife Catherine, shows subtle strength, emotionally torn between supporting her husband’s beliefs and preserving the present financial security for her family. In her Broadway debut, Maite Alina as Petra, stands firmly by her father’s side.
John Lee Beatty's set displays the main room of the Stockmann house with dark, wide beams, the set revolving to show the newspaper office. Noteworthy is the cleverly staged debate segment, facing the audience with actors in the front row and aisles to interact with the debaters.
Watching this high-voltage contemporary production, it’s tempting to remember, “The more things change, the more they stay the same” – especially in politics.
