Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
A MUST SEE
Get ready for a magical night with AMERIKA OR, THE MAN WHO DISAPPEARED World Premiere at Open Fist Theatre Company, adapted for the stage from Franz Kafka’s novel by Dietrich Smith. The production features a soundscape by seven-time Academy Award–winning sound designer Gary Rydstrom (Jurassic Park, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan) and animation sequences by John R. Dilworth, creator of Courage the Cowardly Dog — whose fun animation showing the inside of the ship brings this classical masterpiece to exuberant life. The expressive music and dazzling lights, brought to us by all these creative geniuses, created a magical experience full of humor and wonder.
As Kafka was fond of reading travel books and memoirs, the story was inspired by his reading experiences, and he also incorporates many details of journeys by his relatives who had emigrated to the United States.
The narrative is wrapped around seventeen-year-old Czech immigrant Karl Roßmann (Rossmann), portrayed beautifully by Ethan Remez-Cott, who was disowned by his parents and sent to Amerika to escape a scandal. Being forced on a maidservant and making her pregnant left him no choice but to step on the ship with many other immigrants and make a journey into the unknown. Once there, Karl is speechless at the amount of traffic in New York and absolutely fascinated by machinery. Being swept into a series of bizarre and absurd encounters as he tries to find his place in a strange new world, we follow his search for identity and empathize with the surreal challenges of being an immigrant in a new land.
Written and directed by Dietrich Smith, every moment in this production is carefully and profoundly staged, leaving each scene as a brilliant painting. The whole ensemble is magnificent and totally immersed in the acting craft, including Matthew Goodrich as Head Purser/Robinson/Ensemble, Tambrie Allsup as Klara/Fergusson/Ensemble, Kelsey Kusinitz as Woman/German woman/Ensemble, Marc Jablon as Uncle Jacob/Head Waiter/Ensemble, Debba Rofheart as Head cook/Brunelda/Ensemble, Chima Rok as Captain/Delamarche/Ensemble, Jade Santana as Teacher/Giacomo/Ensemble, Jack Sharpe as Schubal/Mr. Green/Ensemble, Grace Soens as Therese/Angel/Ensemble and Jeremy D. Thompson as The Stoker/ Pollunder/Ensemble.
“Amerika was the first work of Kafka’s I ever read, and I instantly fell in love with its adventurous, comedic spirit,” says Smith. “It has a youthful energy that’s unique in his canon. According to his diary, one of Kafka’s inspirations for this novel was Charles Dickens, specifically David Copperfield. I hope I’ve captured the bold Dickensian style that he so masterfully turned to his own ends. It’s a great story, and inherently theatrical. And being a tale about the trials of an immigrant, it has an ever-increasing relevance.”
In the story, the Statue of Liberty is holding a sword, and some scholars have interpreted this as a “might makes right” philosophy Kafka may have believed the United States holds.
The rest of the creatives are Barbara Schofield as Assistant Director, Frederica Nascimento, who created the distinctive Scenic Design, Gavan Wyrick as Lighting Designer, and A. Jeffrey Schoenberg, who dressed everyone in original time-related costumes. The Stage Manager is John Dimitri and Programmer is Nick Foran. Brad Bentz built the fascinating set, and Elizabeth Moore is Drops Artist. Producers for this production are Amanda Weier & Derek Manson.
Open Fist Theatre Company is a collective, self-producing artistic enterprise with all facets of its operation run by its artist members under the leadership of artistic director Martha Demson. The company’s name combines the notion that an open spirit, embracing all people and all ideas, is essential, with the idea that determination, signified by a fist, is necessary if the theater is to remain a vital voice for social change and awareness.
Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared continues through November 22. Performances take place on Saturdays at 7 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $26 to $45. Open Fist Theatre Company is located at Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. in LA. (FREE parking in the Atwater Crossing (ATX) lot one block south of the theater).
To purchase tickets and for more information call (323) 882-6912 or go to www.openfist.org
Photo Credit: Keats Elliott