Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Boys will be boys in Charles Mee’s rousing, rowdy THE GLORY OF THE WORLD

• By drediman
• January 30, 2016
• No Comments

Last night, I trekked out to Brooklyn to catch the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s production of The Glory of the World, written by Charles Mee and directed by Les Waters. The piece, which features a large, rowdy cast of men, is a theatrical celebration of sorts that explores and commemorates the life of monk, activist, and mystic Thomas Merton (the late Merton recently celebrated his 100^th birthday). In Mr. Mee’s play, don’t expect a linear, point-by-point depiction of Merton’s fascinating life and viewpoints. Instead, what Mr. Mee and Mr. Waters have devised is a stream conscious fever dream that layers questions of who Merton was onto the everyman’s perspective of the world. What results is a messy but truthful theatrical manifestation of what it means to grapple with living a good, meaningful life in the face of the world’s impenetrable logic. The piece doesn’t all cohere in the most elegant manner, but then perhaps that was the intention – The Glory of the World suggests Merton basked in these contradictions and embraced the mysterious motivations of human existence, as should we.

Mr. Waters’ highly physical production (designed with flair by Dane Laffrey, Mark Barton, and Christian Frederickson on sets, lights, and sound respectively), which culminates in a visceral display of male exuberance and violence, also celebrate solemnity and contemplation. Indeed, The Glory of the World is bookended by scenes in near total silence. I also applaud the sizeable cast of 20 men who throw themselves into the piece with reckless abandon; it’s a visceral thrill to watch them at play. The show possesses many similarities to the performance I saw the previous evening, Open Clasp’s highly charged all-women prison drama Key Change. Both raise thought provoking perspectives on power struggles and the complexity of human behavior, particularly within same-sex groupings. Intriguing companion pieces, to be sure.

RECOMMENDED

THE GLORY OF THE WORLD
Off-Broadway, Play
BAM Harvey Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through February 6