Hugh Jackman Takes Us To ‘The River’

DOWN BY ‘THE RIVER’: Hugh Jackman as The Man & Laura Donnelly as The Other Woman. Photo: Richard Termine

THE RIVER
Written by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Ian Rickson
Through February 8, 2015
Circle in the Square Theatre
1633 Broadway
(212-239-6200), http://www.theriveronbroadway.com/

By Scott Harrah

You’ve never seen Hugh Jackman like this.   Some fans of the Aussie superstar—famous for everything from “Wolverine” movies to such stage credits as The Boy from Oz, A Steady Rain and his one-man show Hugh Jackman: Back on Broadway—might not know quite what to think of Mr. Jackman here, in his most austere role to date, playing a man who doesn’t sing and isn’t exactly charismatic. Jez Butterworth’s The River is a follow-up to the transatlantic sensation Jerusalem and was produced in London at the Royal Court in 2012, with Dominic West in the lead.

Jerusalem won star Mark Rylance a Tony Award, but it was full of English folklore, symbolism, esotericisms and colloquialisms and, therefore, not an easy show for American audiences to comprehend. The same could be said about The River, but the difference is it is only 85 minutes long.

On the surface, this is a bare-bones show, set in a rustic log cabin on a cliff above the eponymous river. Mr. Jackman plays The Man, a brooding fly-fisherman who likes to wax poetic about sea trout, which can only be caught once a year on a night when the moon cannot be seen. In the opening scenes, Cush Jumbo is The Woman, apparently his girlfriend. She’s the type of woman who demands that he watch a sunset with her, and when she asks him to describe it, he spouts florid gibberish in a derisive tone, “Trails of apricot, feathering out through blue, dark blue, and aquamarine to an iris ring of obsidian and above the Evening Star.”

In no time, this seemingly simplistic play gets confusing.   After a nighttime fishing trip, we see The Man on the phone to the police, reporting a woman gone missing. The Other Woman (Laura Donnelly) walks through the door, and The Man quickly hangs up the phone. Is his girlfriend back? Or is this someone else entirely? This is the first of many twists that tell the convoluted back story of the reclusive man and his troubled love life. We get the sense that these two women, exchanging places in certain scenes, are part of a string of many lady loves, all of whom The Man brings to the cabin each year.

The River is both a thriller and a parable, depending on how one interprets it. It’s highbrow, heady stuff, complete with references to William Butler Yeats’ poem “The Song of the Wandering Aegus” (an entire copy is included as an insert in the Playbill, just in case you forgot each stanza from your 19^th Century British and Irish Poetry course in college).

When this show opened two years ago in London, the British critics showered it with superlatives. Hype seems to follow any British production when it “crosses the Pond” to Broadway, but without Hugh Jackman as the headliner, it is unlikely The River would be the American blockbuster it has already become.

The River lacks the quirkiness of Jerusalem, and isn’t nearly as compelling, but that will not matter to the people that have paid top dollar for tickets just to see Mr. Jackman. He immerses himself into the character with conviction, and volumes could likely be written about the symbolism of him cleaning and gutting a fish. It is the sort of hyper masculine lyricism that was a recurring theme in Ernest Hemingway novels, but something rarely seen in contemporary British theater. Does The Man view his female conquests like the sea trout he loves to catch? Let’s leave the allegorical parts of the story open to audience interpretation.

Mr. Jackman is supported with first-rate performances by Ms. Donnelly and Ms. Jumbo. It is worth noting that Ms. Donnelly is the only cast member who appeared in the 2012 London production and reportedly rallied to bring the show to Broadway, and she is dynamic in every scene.

Ian Rickson directs everyone with the perfect sense of tension needed, as Mr. Butterworth’s action teases the audience. Is this a ghost story? Or is it a Gothic spine-chiller, a sort of macho variation of something by the Bronte sisters for the stage? The River will leave many impressions. Some may find it overly poetic and pretentious, some might be confused, while others will appreciate Mr. Butterworth’s gift for ornate language and dialogue. Regardless, The River is destined to become one of the most-talked-about dramas of the season.

HUGH JACKMAN AS THE MAN: Aussie actor stars in Jez Butterworth’s ‘The River.’ Photo: Richard Termine

ORIGINAL LONDON CAST MEMBER: Laura Donnelly (top) was in the 2012 production at the Royal Court Theatre & pushed for the show to come to Broadway with Hugh Jackman (below) in the lead. Photo: Richard Termine

BRITISH HIT ARRIVES ON BROADWAY: Hugh Jackman & Cush Jumbo as The Woman in ‘The River.’ Photo: Richard Termine

GHOST STORY OR GOTHIC THRILLER? Hugh Jackman (left) & Cush Jumbo in ‘The River.’ Photo: Richard Termine

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 16, 2014
Reviewed at press performance on November 15, 2014