THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE
Play by Bertolt Brecht; directed by Kate Whoriskey. Through Oct. 9 on the Segerstrom Stage, South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa. Call (714) 708-5555 or go to www.scr.org.
With George Bush being assailed at every turn for Iraq and now, crijimminy, for Hurricane Katrina, where can an OC Republican find a little peace and solace? Not at SCR, which is staging a song-and-dance-enhanced version of a Brecht classic. Brecht was a Commie exile writing from Hollywood, and this 1944 play decries militarism, debunks authority, assails the rich and finds all of the virtue in the downtrodden simple folk. But what the heck. It’s great theater and SCR’s cast and crew do their usual top-notch job. But be forewarned that the first act drags on a bit and may tempt you to leave at intermission, as a number of people did on opening night. Don’t. Act II is a gem, featuring a riotous performance by Tony Award winner (for “Sideman”) Frank Wood. He plays the drunken, lecherous, brilliant, principled, unprincipled, ball-of-contradictions, Judge Azdak. “Caucasian” refers to the Caucuses, the war-torn setting of Brecht’s morality tale. As for time, the early 19th century is suggested, although Brecht only allowed that the story happened “once upon a time.” Director Whoriskey embraces that idea; the multi-ethnic cast, Walt Spangler’s whimsical sets and Ilona Somogyi’s costumes that hint at everything from ancient Egypt to modern Garden Grove, give the play a fairy-tale quality that would have delighted Brecht, an entertainer above all else.
,Rick Reiff
RATING: Three and a half Briefcases
(out of four)
