Arthur Miller’s 1950 play, An Enemy of the People, which he adapted from Henrik Ibsen’s prophetic 1882 play, is the story of a small Norwegian town called Kirsten Springs whose prosperity and identity are dependent on its salubrious waters, which the town doctor discovers are, in fact, toxic. The doctor, who is friends with the so-called liberal press, is certain that he will be hailed—if not canonized—for making this news public, saving lives as well as the town’s soul. Alas, his fervor is matched only by his naïveté. Like other Miller plays that Barrington Stage Company’s artistic director Julianne Boyd has mounted as her fall production (The Crucible in 2010 and All My Sons in 2012), An Enemy of the People resonates with contemporary concerns. I found my mind wandering as I watched this superbly acted and directed production, which was, counterintuitively, a good thing: I thought about climate change, the dangers of hydraulic fracking, the recent contaminations of drinking water in Ohio and West Virginia. It wasn’t until intermission, when I saw stories from the Berkshire Eagle mounted on the lobby’s walls about General Electric’s dumping of toxic PCBs into the nearby Housatonic River, that I realized how the storyline hit so close to home. Boyd demonstrates that great theater is a public service on many levels.
As usual at Barrington Stage, the casting is dead on. Steve Hendrickson as Dr. Thomas Stockmann who sounds the warning bell is convincing in the Jimmy Stewart-esque role of the moralist who refuses to compromise his convictions even though he puts himself—and his family—in danger. As his malevolent brother, the mayor of the town, Patrick Husted brings to mind the evil Mr. Potter (Jimmy Stewart’s nemesis in It’s A Wonderful Life) who cannot see past the bottom line. He is so convincing in his portrayal that he was actually booed at the curtain call by several members of the audience at last Sunday afternoon’s performance. And as the liberal journalists who betray their ethical responsibilities, Scott Drummond, Christopher Hirsch and Jack Wetherall devolve with plausible deniability. As Dr. Stockmann gradually becomes so irate that he becomes unhinged, I couldn’t help but think of the playwright and activist Larry Kramer whose often-hysterical behavior was the only way he knew how to respond to the government’s lackadaisical response in the first decade of the AIDS crisis. We’ve all known or read about zealots like Dr. Stockmann, but few of us have the courage of our convictions. Although some of the dialogue feels old-fashioned, Boyd’s direction makes An Enemy of the People absorbing, intense and rewardingly relevant. She stages a near-riot scene by cleverly having several actors yell and arrive on stage from the aisles, making us fully aware that we are participants in such conflicts whether we like it or not. After all, passivity is as much a choice as activism. Miller’s morality tale is especially unnerving because the ending is intentionally ambiguous, bringing to mind the somewhat cryptic AA slogan, “Would you rather be right or happy?" An Enemy of the People (through October 19) Barrington Stage Company 30 Union St, Pittsfield, MA 413.236.8888 October 8Post-Show Talk with the Cast October 12 @ 5:30 pmPre-show panel discussion: “Housatonic River Clean-up: What’s Next?"
