249. THE
HERO
Alex
Roe’s enterprising little Metropolitan Playhouse on E. 4th Street in Alphabet
City, which is given to rediscovering forgotten American plays, usually picks
pre-20th-century works; with THE HERO, by Gilbert Emery (better known as
short story writer Emery Pottle), it has chosen a play closer in time. THE HERO
opened at the Belmont Theatre on September 5, 1921, and ran for 80
performances, making it a commercial failure but not preventing it from being
selected by Burns Mantle for inclusion as one of the ten best plays of
1921-1922. Plays on that year’s list that still see occasional revivals include
O’Neill’s ANNA CHRISTIE, Andreyev’s HE WHO GETS SLAPPED, and Maugham’s THE
CIRCLE, but, like THE HERO, most of the rest have faded from memory, except
among buffs. In my Encyclopedia of the New York Stage: 1920-1930 I wrote about THE
HERO’s first production thusly [names in brackets are those of actors in the Metropolitan
production]:
THE
HERO was first produced as a matinee-only production [at the Longacre Theatre]
but several months later returned in a regular mounting at the Belmont Theatre
and became a success d’éstime, its
original leading player [in the role of Andrew] being replaced by Richard
Bennett [a major star of the time, father of the movie actresses Joan and
Constance Bennett]. Alexander Woollcott was only one of many who urged his
readers to see this ironic work that explored the question of what true heroism
is.
During
the war [World War I] n’er-do-well brother Oswald [Christian Rozakis]
apparently redeemed himself by a career of valiant heroics in the Foreign
Legion. Brother Andrew [Kevin Bernard] stayed home, struggling to care for his family,
despite a small income. Welcomed home as the conquering hero, Oswald soon
seduces Marthe [Becca Ballenger], the refugee Belgian maid, and attempts the
same with his doting sister-in-law Hester [Casandera Lollar]. Finally, he dies
before he can run off with the church funds he has stolen, having performed a
final courageous act in saving a child from a kindergarten fire. Yet no one, no
matter what he has done, condemns his previous acts of dishonesty or
immorality. Which brother, the play asks, is the true hero—the morally or the
physically brave one?
This
plot, said Heywood Broun, was superficially old-fashioned but was raised to
artistic heights by Emery’s dramatic insights.
THE HERO does, indeed, creak like an
old-fashioned play at times, especially with its rushed final minutes when so
many dramatic threads are quickly woven together, but it does warrant revival
and consideration as a thoughtful treatment of the problem set by the
playwright. As we walked toward the subway, my companion was buzzing with
reactions to Mr. Emery’s perceptions. Mantle observed that the Great War was,
perhaps, too recent, and that more time was needed before its ideas could be
appreciated without the still warm sentiment accorded to war heroes. Have we
changed our attitudes toward returning soldiers, or, indeed, toward anyone involved
in major catastrophes? Do we not, perhaps even more than ever, instantly label
someone a hero just because they died or were injured while doing their job in
some horrific event, especially one with political overtones?
The Metropolitan’s production,
directed by Mr. Roe, who also designed the simple set, is restrained and rather
quiet, sometimes too quiet as when the younger actresses mumble. The venue’s upstage
wall, which has served in many recent shows, has been removed so that a
staircase could be installed, and the three-quarters round performance space
includes furniture that allows the single set to be both the dining room and
sitting room called for by the script. Despite the low budget, Sidney Fortner’s
costumes adequately capture the world of a post-World War I lower-middle class
family.
The lack of histrionics among the
actors is welcome, and helps to underscore the subtextual feelings, but the
production, which runs two hours and ten minutes with one intermission, eventually
tends to drag and there are too many moments where cues could be picked up more
briskly and the pace quickened. Ms. Mitchell’s portrayal of the nagging Sarah
is perhaps the most believable and true to the period, while Mr. Bernard comes
close as the unsophisticated insurance salesman brother, with his habit of
snapping his fingers that so annoys his wife. As the good-looking but caddish
brother, Mr. Rozakis looks right, but he runs a bit short in the charisma
department. Ms. Lollar is suitably cast as the mother who’s guilty of allowing
the thought of her brother-in-law’s corrupt intentions to affect her, but Ms.
Ballenger’s maid, and her impenetrable accent, is out of tune with the ensemble.
A nod is in order to the Metropolitan
Playhouse for its valiant efforts to restore forgotten plays like THE HERO to
the New York stage. It is the true hero behind this production.