Theater Review - The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

Written by Bertolt Brecht

Directed by Heinz-Uwe Haus

When: Sunday, May 2, 2010

Where: Thompson Theater at the Roselle Center for the Arts

(University of Delaware, Newark, DE)

What: Play, Professional Theater, Drama

The scene: 1930s Chicago.  A mobster known as Arturo Ui wants to rise up in the ranks and will do so by striking fear into the people throughout the city.  Will he succeed?  That's what we'll find out as we watch The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.  

Essentially, playwright Bertolt Brecht wanted to depict how easy it is for people to be manipulated by a powerful figure -- and the parallels Brecht makes between Ui and Hitler aren't exactly veiled.  The director of UD's Resident Ensemble Players latest production certainly makes this case clear in the final scene in which all of the house lights come up in the theater, the actors come off the stage and into the audience, and we, the viewers, are pulled right into Ui's scheme.  Will we follow him or are we brave enough to walk away?

This was certainly the most "off-Broadway" of the plays I've seen put on by the REP at UD.  Between each scene, there were odd singing and dancing interludes that had me shaking my head in confusion and bewilderment.  And the play itself was rather wordy, drawing from Shakespearean verse that, at times, made me feel incredibly dumb for not being able to keep up with what was being said.

Despite the dislike for the play itself, the production was, once again, stellar.  Although there was essentially no set other than chairs and a few moving platforms, the play was visually intriguing in its starkness.  The nearly blank stage also allowed Carine Montbertrand to shine in the title role.  Yes, it was a woman playing the part of the very masculine gangster, but she was quite amazing.  Montbertrand milks the character for all the humor that the role allows (a very funny bit involving Ui and a retiring Shakespearean actor is pretty uproarious), while at the same time managing to exude an incredibly powerful and frightening demeanor as the crooked politician.

So, while this may be my least favorite play I've seen at the REP this year, I once again am amazed at the quality of this theater in our little state of Delaware.