ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST at SF Playhouse

From top left: Patrick Alparone, Hansford Prince, Brian Raffi, Louis Parnell, Gilbert Esqueda, Yusef Lambert.

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST by Dale Wasserman, Based on the novel by Ken Kesey, directed by Bill English. The SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street (one block off Union Square, b/n Powell & Mason), San Francisco. Playhouse box office at 415-677-9596, or www.sfplayhouse.org.

REVIVAL OF ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST MISSES THE MARK

Having worked during 1957-1958 in Twin Elms Sanatorium, a private mental asylum, where electroshock therapy (EST) was prevalent, this review may not reflect the opinions of the opening night audience of SF Playhouse’s revival of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Just as the twin, 100-foot tall Elm trees that guarded the gates have died, so has the excessive use of EST. Program notes suggest that the story line fits in with SF Playhouse’s desire to pick plays that reflect NOW (their capitals, not mine). That’s a far stretch suggesting even NOW “institutions . . . will always be tempted to suppress the liberties of citizens. . .”

It is a dated play set in 1958 in an Oregon mental asylum and when produced on Broadway in 1963 received rave reviews. Actors chosen to play the diverse and perverse roles have a great opportunity to display their ability. Lee Sankowich, former director of Marin Theatre Company, mounted a brilliant production in 1995 of his revised version that was a smash hit playing for over one year in the Bay Area. In the SF Playhouse production, the casting is uneven, with five of the 13 characters giving superb performance.

Chief Bromden (Michael Torres) a supposedly deaf and dumb Indian schizophrenic, who has had 200 EST sessions, is the narrator. He is physically huge but thinks of himself as small unable to cope or fight back. Randle Patrick McMurphy (Hanford Prince), a scam artist criminal with enough moxie and bravado for a dozen men, cons the authorities into allowing him to serve his short sentence in a mental institution rather than a jail cell. That was his first mistake. His second mistake was to buck the authority of the 20-year veteran Head nurse Ratched (Susi Damilano), the ultimate authority of the ward. Others in the ward are self-committed and therefore can leave anytime they desire but are afraid to do so because of their mental insecurities. Dale Harding (Louis Parnell) is educated and the “most sane” of all the inmates and acts as a buffer with Nurse Ratched.

McMurphy takes over the ward, instills self-reliance into the other inmates and is able to induce Chief to talk and eventually to have enough self-confidence to leave. McMurphy leads a revolt that over-rides “the rules” so they can see the World Series on TV. For that offense, he “earns” an EST. The battle lines between Ratched and McMurphy are drawn and there is a moment of shock when Harding informs McMurphy that since he was “committed” Ratched controls when he will be released. This does not dissuade him and later, with the aid of a bribed night aide, sets up a wild midnight party with liquor and prostitutes. Ratched, with the concurrence of the over-worked and subjugated Dr. Spivey (David Sinaiko) gets her final victory arranging for a pre-frontal lobotomy that reduces McMurphy to a vegetable.

The strength of the play lies with the actors and the battle of wills between Ratched and McMurphy. A major weakness is the decision to use Prince in the role of the protagonist. English is to be congratulated for his dedication to non-traditional casting that often adds depth to the productions requiring those chosen to be

superior actors. Hanford Prince was great in last year’s production of Our Lady of 121^st Street, but he is miscast as McMurphy giving a one-dimensional performance exuding bravado without the charisma. Damilano runs away with the acting accolades as she earns the nickname of “Rat Shit” given her by the inmates. She shares those accolades with Michael Torres with his towering change from internal little man to full stature as an Indian chief.

The other inmates are brought to life by the extended cast especially Patrick Alparone as the virginal, stuttering Billy Bibbit leading the pack that would earn him a local “Tony Award” for supporting cast. Joe Madero earns a medal for his non-speaking role as lobotomized Ruckley. Gilberto Esqueda adds humor as Martini who is prone to hallucinations. Yusef Lambert as Cheswick realistically changes from a vocal “lion” to a cringing scaredy cat. Brian Raffi as the bomb making Scanlon holds his own and David Sinaiko is perfect as the milk-toast MD. Louis Parnell as the impotent isle of sanity measures up to his previous outings on the Playhouse stage.

Running Time about two hours.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com