AmericanTheaterWeb Original News & Reviews

The setting is in the depression-era past, but the themes of how man copes with loneliness, longs to fit in, fights to control his destiny and comes to grips with being human still are relevant in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men running at the Westport Country Playhouse.

Like the Robert Burns poem from which it borrows its title, the plot elucidates how the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. George (Brian Hutchison) tries to look after his strongman-bodied, but child-minded friend Lennie (Mark Mineart) as the two flee a lynch mob that's assembled after Lennie's attempt to touch a woman’s soft dress results in a cry of rape. They find work on a California ranch, where George tells his friend they’re better off than the other ranchers because they have each other and a future. One day they’ll buy their own place and if he behaves, Lennie will be able to tend the soft little rabbits.

Their dream becomes a beacon of hope to outcast black rancher Crooks (Kene Holliday) and oldtimer Candy (Edward Seamon), who does odd jobs around the place to earn his keep and that of his old, tattered dog whom the other ranchers think has outlived his usefulness and should be put down.

The four friends keep their plan to venture out on their own a secret from the others on the ranch, including rew boss Slim (affectingly played by Matthew Montelongo) who shows a compassionate side to both Lennie and Crooks. Others whom they keep at arms length are Carlson (humorously played by Tommy Nohilly), Whit (Sean Patrick Reilly), the boss (Mateo Gomez, whose words sometimes are not clear) and the boss’s son Curley (Rafael Sardina) whose new wife (Betsy Morgan) is restless and stirring up trouble. Just like Lennie who can’t keep his hand off soft things resulting in the play's tragedy.

The central performances are strong under the direction of Mark Lamos, who took over for Paul Newman, to whom the production is dedicated. Mineart is particularly poignant as the well meaning but non discerning Lennie and gives a characterization that glimpses the parallels between Lennie and Candy’s dog without overemphasis. Holliday embodies age, wisdom and humor in Crooks. Michael Yeargan’s dramatic, yet simple sets combine with Robert Wierzel’s lighting to create a realistic feel.

Except when adapted, as in a recent staging at the Pasadena Playhouse which shifted focus to immigration issues to fuse today’s headlines with the Depression story, Steinbeck usually feels a little dated. This production, however, in the midst of current economic unease on Wall Street (where many from the Westport area work or have investments) leaves an uneasy feeling as present bank failures and past economic collapse mix a little too close for comfort. Some things, humanness and economic difficulties alike, don’t change much, it seems.

---- Lauren Yarger

Of Mice and Men plays at the Westport Country Playhouse (25 Powers Court, Westport, CT) through Nov. 1. Performance times are Tuesdays at 8pm, Wednesdays at 2pm and 8pm, Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $30-$55 and can be purchased by calling 203-227-4177 (toll free 1-888-927-7529) or by visiting www.westportplayhouse.org. Student and educator discounts are available.