‘Machinal’: Caught up in the cog of life

HUSBAND & WIFE: Michael Cumpsty & Rebecca Hall. Photo: Joan Marcus

MACHINAL
Written by Sophie Treadwell
Directed by Lyndsey Turner
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org

By David NouNou

How many of us have felt like a cog in a wheel that goes nowhere; trapped in the machinery of life that engulfs us in total despair?

The Woman’s plight in Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal is real. Her life is untenable, and her future is bleak. A situation that many women faced in 1928 and still do. The times and mores may have changed, but the entrapment is still prevalent. Supporting her elderly nagging mother, as well as herself, being a stenographer in a dead-end job, she ultimately gets married to a dullard to end her drudgery, but instead she compounds it by having a baby she doesn’t want. She does get a reprieve that brings her to life for a brief moment, which eventually throws her into deeper despair when the affair is over and the noose of her loveless marriage tightens even more. What else can she do but murder her husband to free herself from this suffocating grip? This is no spoiler alert; it’s based on the actual life and trial of Ruth Snyder that took place in 1928.

The characters in Machinal have no names. They are simply known as Woman, Husband, Lover and Mother: Rebecca Hall, Michael Cumpsty, Morgan Spector and Suzanne Bertish, respectively. They are perfectly fine in their roles, but as written in the text and voiced by the Woman, the Husband is supposed to be totally repulsive, unattractive and possessing stubby fingers. This brings us into casting issues. As described in the play one would think of a combination of Norm and Cliff from TV’s brilliant “Cheers” but not as lovable. However, here the Husband is portrayed by Michael Cumpsty; a rather handsome man, which throws the play totally out of sync. Yes, he plays a boorish oaf but he is extremely caring, devoted, takes care of Woman and her Mother and is a successful businessman. What more could a woman want?

This brings us to the unevenness of the play and its casting. One is supposed to feel her pain and anguish not sit there say “what the hell is she bitching about; hell I’d marry him to get out of my miserable life.”

The set by Es Devlin is absolutely remarkable. Set on a rotating turntable, it totally captures the bleak emptiness of Woman’s isolated life. In the end, the real culprit here is not any of the characters in the play but an ill-made choice of casting. What could have been a memorable, disturbing and sympathetic piece just comes off as another missed opportunity.

MACHINATIONS IN ‘MACHINAL’: Rebecca Hall & Morgan Spector. Photo: Joan Marcus

4 Tony nominations including: Best Set Design, Best Costume Design, Best  Lighting Design & Sound Design in a drama.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published January 22, 2014
Reviewed at  press performance January 21,2014