Last year, much to the astonishment of programmers whoconsistently underestimate the intelligence of the American public,the epic PBS documentary about the Civil War triggered theimagination of a vast television audience.
Now if only the same thing would happen with John Guare's 1984stage epic, "Women and Water."
The three-hour play, operatic in scope, is receiving aremarkable production by a young ensemble that appropriately callsitself the Big Game Theater. And the result is one of the mostgripping and demanding productions of the season.
With its cast of 20 and a narrative journey that moves from thebloody battlefields of Virginia to the deceptively idyllic beaches ofNantucket and the unpredictable waters of the Caribbean, Guare'sdrama would seem the perfect property for a big-budget company. Yetin Big Game's tiny storefront, where murders and love scenes areenacted just inches from the audience, worlds unfold and souls arebared to marvelous effect.
A sweeping, poetic, densely woven work of grand design andhaunting overtones, "Women and Water" touches on many of the samethemes dealt with in TV's "The Civil War." But as shaped by thestrange and marvelous mind of this most original and idiosyncraticplaywright - and as transformed by the language and craft of puretheater - Big Game's production probes even more intensely into thepsychological roots of this defining national struggle, and into muchthat has come afterward.
Guare's play bears the imprint of poet Walt Whitman, thatmasterful chronicler of the American life force. But it also exudesa strong odor of death, because like Joseph Conrad and HermanMelville, Guare is not afraid to seek out the most horrific outpostsof the American pscyhe. He travels into the heart of darkness andthe belly of the beast.
Initially staged in 1984, and rarely performed since then,"Women and Water" is chronologically the first in what was envisionedas a quartet of plays about America in the 19th century.
As Guare considers the legacy of slavery and capitalism, and theenduring power of the individual, he also sets the stage for theworks to follow. They are "Gardenia," which premiered at the GoodmanTheatre Studio in 1983 and tells of a New England utopian community;"Lydie Breeze," produced by Steppenwolf Theatre in 1986, and theuncompleted "Bulfinch's Mythology."
But if you look closely, you'll also detect traces of Guare'smost recent play, "Six Degrees of Separation," which again deals withrace, guilt and experience.
At the center of "Women and Water" is Lydie Breeze, a23-year-old nurse for the Union Army. The child of a merchantseaman, she is a fierce and endlessly self-challenging young woman.
And during the course of the play she must come to terms notonly with her own desires, but also with her father (played by MelZellman), her twin brother (Chet Grissom), a black man linked totheir destinies (Alexander Parker) and three young men (stronglyacted by Peter Blood, David Bryson and Brett Radford) whose lives shehas saved.
Big Game's production has been directed with tremendousingenuity by David Cromer. (The scene in which a buzzard devours adead soldier is so terrifying I will never forget it.) And JaneGalt's set - rough wood platforms and shadowy forests of gauze andbare branches - serves as a barge, beach house, graveyard and muchmore.
The performers bring fiery conviction to everything they do.But it's Natasha Lowe as Lydie who is the unrelenting force behindnearly every scene. Pale and slender, with delicately chiseledfeatures and riveting eyes, Lowe charges through this play like aveteran soldier. And with the rest of the cast, she emergesvictorious.
"Women and Water" will continue through May 5 at Big GameTheater, 1257 W. Loyola.
Performances begin at 8 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Ticketsare $10. Reservations (312) 262-1132. Street parking is available.
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