Arriving at the Theatre Building Chicago well before the curtain of Vitalist Theatre’s Mother Courage and Her Children, one might be surprised to find the cast and orchestra waiting for them, the production already underway. Spread throughout the house and the collage of scaffolding that comprises the set, the ensemble is busy - not performing in character for the audience, but mingling with them as people. Once the action of the play starts, the uniqueness of this bold and energetic production becomes even clearer.

Mother Courage_Vitalist Theatre, Chicago_November 2006_Photo: Craig Choma

Vitalist Artistic Director Elizabeth Carlin-Metz directed this “re-visioning” of one of Brecht’s most-popular and well-produced plays, based on the adaptation by British playwright David Hare. In short, this entailed approaching the material from a Dadaist perspective, highlighting the similarities between this post-WWI artistic and literary “movement” and Brecht’s play, itself written in the face of WWII. The argument for this juxtaposition of two seemingly incongruous elements was that their similarities - namely the strong anti-war sentiments and rejection of popular contemporary bourgeois art - far outweighed their differences and that the theory of the former could enrich the drama of the latter. I was cautiously skeptical and somewhat curious to see how all this would work in production. The answer was surprisingly well, but not without a few problems.

Mother Courage_Vitalist Theatre, Chicago_November 2006_Photo: Craig Choma

Just as the various scenes of the play functioned as independent pieces which, when strung together, created the larger sense of the story, the various elements of the production, often in disagreement or even direct conflict with each other, combined to highlight the broader themes presented. In this way, Carlin-Metz achieved a theatrical representation of a key Dadaist icon: Henry Duchamp’s sculpture of a wheel on a stool (representing both motion and stillness).  Indeed, this very symbol was re-created literally in Craig Choma’s set design as the “wheels” of Mother Courage’s cart. The sharply colored, almost Jazz-like lighting of Richard Norwood, which was static during the scenes but cycled through the various hues during scene changes, added an intangible hint of this same theme.

Only eight actors made up the relatively young cast and were asked to perform a number of diverse and highly stylized roles during the course of the show, including a multitude of soldier archetypes: such as a Napoleonic commander or a Full Metal Jacket-like drill sergeant. These involved putting on varying accents, makeup, physical demeanors and costumes (the latter courtesy of designer Rachel M. Sypniewski). The choreography of Kristen M. Beckmann coupled with the completely original music of Gregor Mortis and Kevin O’Donnell, created eclectic mixes of vaudevillian soft-shoe routines, cabaret ballads and high-energy percussion reminiscent of Stomp. The cast and musicians really nailed the intensity and physicality of these shifting and divergent styles, which allowed none of them much time to rest during the course of the show. Almost every moment of the play was scored and/or choreographed with the same high energy. Occasionally the cast came out into the house to directly address (one might even say ‘challenge’) the audience members, hence developing the tone set before the show. This, as well as the high energy level of the performance, engaged the spectator.

Mother Courage_Vitalist Theatre, Chicago_November 2006_Photo: Craig Choma

The physical and diverse stylization, along with the tendency to play up the fun and the comedy of the show, created a tone of performance more akin to a Broadway musical - albeit a highly eclectic Broadway musical - than serious political theater. Whereas such a method was very much in line with the goals of both Brecht and the Dadaists, there was, however, a danger in over-playing comedy and stylization, and this production did occasionally slip into that realm. This could be as harmless as actors mugging to the audience too often or as troubling as the occasional feeling of confusion resulting from the barrage of competing styles.

One was compelled to also seriously question the characterization of Mother Courage herself. In a production with a multitude of intense stylizations, the portrayal of the central character was the most extreme and obtrusive of all: making Courage, arguably the most approachable figure in the play, the least approachable character of the production. Furthermore, the actress (Lori Myers) could not have been more than a few years older than the actors playing her children. Although very capable in her execution of the material, Myers appeared strongly miscast in the role of the middle-aged (if not older) mother. These combined factors often made the emotional moments of the play difficult to buy and diluted them to nothing more than brief pauses from the fun and comedy.

Mother Courage_Vitalist Theatre, Chicago_November 2006_Photo: Craig Choma

To the credit of this production and Vitalist Theatre however, even the problems felt crafted and controlled; nothing was the result of accident or poor abilities. Bold and specific choices were made by Carlin-Metz and her creative team in regard to their approach and, for better or worse, the end product was a result of those choices. Although flawed, the successes and originalities of the show made up for the setbacks and demonstrated the diversity with which Brecht’s drama can be staged. Additionally, Vitalist managed to achieve two of the most important goals of Brecht’s work. First, they actually entertained their audience. Secondly, they encouraged discussion beyond the running time of the show: plastering the lobby with articles, essays and art relating to the play and their unique take on it, as well as holding occasional discussions between the cast and crew and audience members - including one on the evening I attended. Ultimately, by making strong, interesting choices as well as opening debate, Vitalist Theatre scored its greatest success with Mother Courage.

Photo Credits: Craig Choma

© Electronic Communications from the International Brecht Society: ECIBS 36.1 (Winter 2008)