To align Henrik Ibsen’s work with today’s state of affairs, Bart DeLorenzo places the characters in 2026 America, a period characterized by effervescent frustrations that seem to be fertile grounds for a revolution.
With references to the recent pandemic, DeLorenzo adapts this play to examine the elaboration of truth and fake news. When Dr. Tom Stockmann (Jay Paulson) gets the report that the water of the thriving town’s springs is contaminated with bacteria, he decides to expose the dangers and ask for a makeover of the springs to fix the issue. But there is a problem. His brother, Peter Stockmann (Jason McBeth), is the town’s mayor. Peter opposes the idea of the makeover, as the springs would have to shut down for a long time, wiping out the town’s main source of income. As a consequence, the renovation project would raise the taxes, a painful measurement for the residents. Peter demands Tom not to publish the report to avoid the town’s economic collapse. Tom firmly responds that he will publish the report. Peter threatens that there will be dire consequences for Tom and his family.
The conflict between the two brothers is a metaphor of what we see quite often, now maximized by social media and the endless influx of information. What is true and what is not? Peter asks Tom to alter the report to make it look less of a crisis and more of a minor issue easy to resolve without shutting down the springs. Even the newspaper editor (DeJuan Christopher) that first decided to help Tom publish the report, is now on Peter’s side, unwilling to ignite the mayor’s fury. Ibsen uses these characters to pierce the veil into the complex relationship between the state and the media. In most cases, the government has a Press Office. This department meets with the media asking to put a spin to the information published by the media outlets. That spin is an elegant way to ask the media to bend to the government’s control of information, much like the control exercised by the CEOs of corporations, who decide how to present the data during the quarterly reports and their conversations with the investors. Are they hiding something? Go figure.
DeLorenzo keeps the tension alive throughout the scenes, sticking faithfully to Ibsen’s text and undertext. To fully understand the play, one must be familiar with Ibsen’s life and sociopolitical views. Ibsen belonged to the old money of the time, a wealthy family, with many members being considered successful industrialists. Some of the members held public office as well. These facts gave Ibsen an opportunity to dissect the upper class in great detail. Much to what happened to his own father, Ibsen depicts Tom as a man who loses his privileged position in society.
In the political spectrum, Ibsen was an anarchist. He was sympathetic to the Paris Commune during the late 1800s. This successful revolt ended quickly, with thousands of deaths and prison sentences; an example of the violent suffocation by the state when its authority is challenged. As supportive as he was, Ibsen also expressed his disillusionment with the movement, indicating that it wasn’t anarchist enough. That statement reflects Ibsen’s strong beliefs of a stateless society. This school of thought is reflected in Enemy of the People, a play where the main character is eager to expose the corruption of the city officials, even at the expense of his economic and social position. DeLorenzo’s fine direction captures efficiently the hardships of Tom’s decisions by having Tom’s wife, Kate (Cara Mitsuko), throw a convincing fit about not wanting to go back to poverty and losing the family’s privileged status just for Tom’s convictions. If Tom will cause the ruin of his family and the town he lives in, is it worth the trouble? After all, is Tom’s resolve real altruism, or self-serving bias?
The best acting comes from Jason McBeth playing the cold, manipulative, and selfish Peter. He’s an archetype of the political figure. No names need to be mentioned; the list is way too long. The set design is chic, mid-century vibes, perhaps? The lighting is subtle but meaningful, especially during Tom’s final conversation with his father-in-law (Dennis Dun). A chiaroscuro technique that depicts the isolation and dark presage of what’s coming for Tom.
Can the libertarian/anarchist ideas in the play shake up the conformism and lethargy of our contemporary society? Would the media be willing to disseminate these ideas?
Enemy of the People
Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Performances: Aug. 22–Sept. 27: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. / Sundays at 3 p.m. / Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: odysseytheatre.com
Written by Henrik Ibsen. Adapted and Directed by Bart DeLorenzo. Produced by Beth Hogan. Supported, in part, by Isabel and Harvey Kibel. Presented by Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Beth Hogan, artistic director.
Starring Lauren Campedelli, DeJuan Christopher, Dennis Dun, Clay Hollander, Jason McBeth, Cara Mitsuko, Jay Paulson.
Creative team: Scenic and costume designer Frederica Nascimento, lighting designer W. Alejandro Melendez and sound designer Jonathan Flikkie. The stage manager is Katie Chabot.
