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Arthur Kopit’s “Indians” is an ambitious sprawl of a play In thirteen scenes that reaches for and almost establishes epic proportions. The focus of the play centers around the life of William F. Cody, but the hectic career of Buffalo Bill becomes the unifying thread that knits together the play’s broad and multiple themes. Kopit explores the conflict of myth and history, fact and legend, appearance and reality, the abuse of power, the destructive clash between cultures, and the harsh demands of finding the truth in tracing the events of thepftstThe result is sometimes too ambitious for a single play, but “Indians” is an effectively manipulated assortment of theatrical metaphors, often exciting, stimulating, and pungent, and at times quite moving.A raucous Wild West Show serves as the disjointed formof the play which yields a aequence of plays-within-plays, a handful of scenes which contrast the legendary public image of Buffalo Bill and the private anguish of the fron-tiersman*! encounter with the brutally treated Indians. The Wild West Show itself becomes a fragmented entertainment, exaggerated and comic, gaudy and boisterous.The other half of “Indians” is a grimly serious and disturbing study of genocide. The Indians of Kopit’s play are its real heroes, and theirs is the tragedy of lives destroyed by the blind force of history and the plind prejudice ofmen. . 1 H '... flfnlpi §r'' rThe Asolo production Is superb from beginning tf end.Kopit’s text is explored to its maximum, and everything in the production is faultlessly geared Into a tightly knit, sometimes dazzling evening of theater. William King’s single revolving set, James Meade’s evocative lighting, Peter J. Morere’s effectively assembled incidental music, and the costumes by Catherine King and Flozanne John are individually compelling, but they are inseparably involved withone another in structuring a nearly mythical atmosphere in which the play moves and against which it can define itself. The result is theater at its finest, and from opening slide to closing caption the production is both visually arresting aid exciting. Eberie Thomas has directed the play with a fine sense of its larger dimensions and with an equally admirable command of its smaller sequences. The evening moves from one level of reality to another, from humor to pathos, from glittering artificiality to searing truth, and the pace is handsomely sustained.Walger Rhodes’ portrayal of Buffalo Bill is an exciting performance. William F. Cody comes alive from behind the image of Buffalo Bill, and even Cody’s difficult and not altogether convincing farewell speech is handled expertly. There is a kind of understated puzzlement at the sweep of external events which gives the role of Cody a full-bodied stature, and Mr. Rhodes exploits the painted humanity of a man caught up in the demands of self as well as entangledin tbe rush of history. j,. IThe large supporting cast is uniformly excellent. William Leach’s Sitting Bull is richly conceived, as is Eberie Thoma** Chief Joseph. James L. Sutorious is beautifully effective as John Grass, and Bill E. Noone is quite moving in his brief appearance as Geronimo. pL.The rest of the cast is equally good. Robert Strane, Bradford Wallace, and Robert Lanchester appear in multiple roles, and several of their performances are impressive. The 01’ Time President of Robert Strane »■■■■■ noteworthy, and Robert Lanchester as WiM is searimdy comical. % 1 Y *“Indians” is an exciting play, and ultimately a deeply troubling exploration into the past. It does not seek to undo history or to remake the past. The play re-examines our treatment of the Indians and seeks not so much torewrite history as to grasp it more accurately. And it begs us to learn from our past as we free it from itsaccrued legends. lt;V-: v ;Margaret Mead recently commented that we are art guilty of our grandfathers’ wrongs unless we repeat those wrongs. Kopit’l “Indians” may be viewed as sayingjpiuch the same thing; it urges' us to see ourselves more clearly and begs us to learn from what we see. ' * •
Newspaper Details
Sarasota Herald Tribune
Sarasota, Florida, US
Sun, Jul 18, 1971
Page 37
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 10 Apr 2020
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