More, a devout Catholic lawyer and scholar, however, prefers to
keep his lips zipped instead of agreeing to Henry’s insistence, or the merciless
’s importunities,
that the king of England has supremacy in such matters over the pope. It’s an
obstinacy, based on the voice of conscience, for which he eventually pays with
his head. As for the Trump-Pelosi impasse, history will soon enough determine
whose head, at least metaphorically, will roll.
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| Harry Bouvy. Photo: Jeremy Daniel. |
Christa Scott-Reed’s uninspired staging for the
Fellowship for Performing Arts (The
Screwtape Letters)—a group devoted to plays supporting a Christian worldview
that audiences can find both entertaining and enlightening—simplifies the
casting by having three actors play two roles. Carolyn McCormick is both Lady
Alice More and a Woman; John Ahlin plays Cardinal Wolsey and Sigor Chapuys; and
Sean Dugan covers William Roper and Archbishop Cranmer,Theresa Squire’s modest
period costumes help differentiate one role from the other.
 |
| Michael Countryman, Carolyn McCormick. Photo: Jeremy Daniel. |
Most significantly, the revival restores the Common Man (Harry
Bouvy). I say “restores” because, foolishly, this important “character,” not
included in the 1966 movie version, was cut from the 2008 Roundabout
production starring Frank Langella. The Common Man—the role that first brought
George Rose to Broadway’s attention, is Bolt’s chorus-like device for tying the play’s
ideas to the modern world. Although generally satisfactory, Bouvy is not a Rose by any other name.
 |
| Harry Bouvy. Photo: Jeremy Daniel. |
The Common Man is a witty, roguish, fourth wall-breaking fellow who provides
narrative information while moving through the action in a succession of minor
roles: servant, ferryman, jailer, jury foreman, and black-hooded executioner. Changing
his look by taking items from a chest, he’s someone with whose nimble ability
to survive audiences can identify. “It isn’t difficult to keep alive, friends—just
don’t make trouble.”
 |
| Todd Cerveris, David McElwee. Photo: Jeremy Daniel. |
Full disclosure: I’ve been attached to the Common Man idea since I directed and
acted in The Wages of Folly, Virtue, and Sin, an evening of Shakespeare
scenes I put together as a college project in 1962. A
Man for All Seasons was then running on Broadway, so, at the suggestion of
my professorial advisor, who had seen the play (I hadn’t), I stole the concept.
 |
| Michael Countryman, Todd Cerveris, Photo: Jeremy Daniel. |
Bolt’s play, like so many modern historical dramas based on
British history (think
Wolf Hall, which covers much the same territory but from Cromwell’s perspective, and with more dramatic panache), invites the usual pseudo-Shakespearean acting. Despite the big voices spouting class-based
British accents, Bolt’s lush yet accessible language eventually drowns you in
its verbiage, even when spoken by such full-throated players as Ahlin, Kevin
Morrow as the Duke of Norfolk, or Todd Cerveris as Cromwell. Each has
moments when rhetoric turns to bombast.
 |
| Michael Countryman, Kim Wong. Photo: Jeremy Daniel. |
Michael Countryman’s low-keyed More lacks the brilliantly
crafted, charismatic integrity and granular emotionalism of Paul Scofield’s magnificent
original (preserved in the movie). However, Countryman’s depiction of More’s conflicted
soul is more humanly affecting and down-to-earth—particularly when relating to
his wife and daughter (Kim Wong)—than Langella’s pompously dull version of 10
years ago.
 |
| Kevin Morrow, Kim Wong. Photo: Jeremy Daniel. |
Steven C. Kemp’s Tudor-influenced setting serves efficiently,
with minor changes, for the many locales, but its bland ordinariness won’t win prizes
for aesthetic value. Aaron Porter’s lighting has some singular moments, as during
the execution scene, and John Gromada’s music and sound design offer decent
contributions. Overall, though, Scott-Reed’s blandly conventional production resembles
something one might have seen in a college or community theatre 50 years ago.
As noted, we may one day have a Trump-Pelosi drama, with objections
to a wall replacing objections to a divorce. But until we get A Woman for All Seasons, even an only
so-so revival of A Man for All Seasons can
get you thinking about dilemmas in which an irresistible force meets an immovable
object.
OTHER VIEWPOINTS:
Acorn Theatre/Theatre Row
410 W. 42nd St., NYC
Through March 3
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