THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Harrower’s lean, efficient PUBLIC ENEMY packs a punch in The Pearl’s revival

The company of "Public Enemy" at The Pearl Theatre Company

The company of “Public Enemy” at The Pearl Theatre Company

Last weekend, I had a chance to take in The Pearl Theatre Company’s timely revival of Henrik Ibsen’s Public Enemy (more commonly translated to English as “An Enemy of the People”) in a version by David Harrower. Mr. Harrower, who was represented last season on Broadway with his searing Blackbird, here gives us a lean and efficient take on the Ibsen classic – the production has a running time of 90 minutes – that still manages to pack in the same dramatic punch the piece is capable of.

The play, about a doctor (Stockmann) who self-sabotages his personal life when he refuses to let his idealism fall by the wayside (even when his whole community is against him), is being given a solid production by the folks at The Pearl. The production is helmed by artistic director Hal Brook, and he’s given the staging a clean, modern look that works well with Mr. Harrower’s translation. Stockmann here is played by the very good Jimonn Cole, whose likeability as an actor generates fascinating tension in the later scenes. Nilaja Sun is also excellent as his supportive wife, fully invested in the role even when she doesn’t have any lines. If the rest of the cast doesn’t quite reach these two actors’ heights, the intended cumulative effect of the production remains undimmed.

RECOMMENDED

 

PUBLIC ENEMY
Off-Broadway, Play
The Pearl Theatre Company
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through November 6

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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