'The Good Person of Setzuan': Brecht in the Berlind

Interest in Tony Kushner appears to remain robust. The Signature Theatre Company has mounted a season devoted exclusively to the Pulitzer Prize winner’s works and Princeton’s theater program is offering a seminar on his plays this semester.

Drawing on this rich context — and as he notes in the program, the influence that Bertolt Brecht had on him as an undergraduate — director Mark Nelson ’77 makes Kushner’s adaptation of Brecht’s 1943 play, “The Good Person of Setzuan,” the admirably relevant choice for the Program in Theater’s fall production. Under his capable direction, a veteran student cast turns in an impressive and cohesive production that does justice to both Kushner and Brecht.

“The Good Person of Setzuan” tells the story of three gods who descend to the sleepy village of Setzuan in search of a single good mortal. Impressed by the hospitality of Shen Te (Jenna Devine ’12), a prostitute whom they encounter during their visit, the gods give her enough money to leave the brothel and open a small tobacco shop. Generous by nature and quickly beset by entreaties for support, Shen Te’s one recourse to avoid financial ruin is to periodically impersonate Shui Ta, her pragmatic (and fictional) cousin who cracks down on the charitable largesse and transforms her tiny smoke shop into a bustling tobacco wholesaler.

The role of Shen Te, with its requirement to shift between two drastically different characters, is quintessentially Brechtian, highlighting Brecht’s interest in the performer maintaining a conscious distance between herself and the character she is embodying. Devine brilliantly embraces the departure from realism that this effect requires. When she is portraying Shui Ta — a shift visually denoted by her donning a simple white mask — she modulates her voice downward and stiffens her demeanor, but never so much that she appears to be unequivocally embodying the cousin. Rather, the focus of Devine’s performance is on the process of Shen Te performing Shui Ta, allowing the audience to simultaneously remain conscious of both characters.

Similarly, Bethy Atkins ’11 fully exploits the Brechtian potential of Mrs. Shin, the town gossip who discovers Shui Ta’s true identity. On some levels, Mrs. Shin is an unremarkable role, the nosy bystander who sleuths her way into a juicy discovery. Reworking this framework, however, Atkins places the focus of her performance on serving as a direct connection between Shen Te and the audience. Through knowing looks as she pursues her case and occasional direct address to the house, she eschews realism to dramatize the audience’s own gradual struggle to comprehend Shen Te’s identity.

In other supporting roles, Gary Fox ’13 is effective as the slightly harried water seller who initially greets the trio of deities. Sebastian Franco ’12 adds some strong but understated comedy as the ultra-slick policeman who schmoozes with Shui Ta.

An ambitious and appealing addition to the production is the original music composed by Gilad Cohen GS and capably performed by Cohen, Cameron Britt GS, David Lackey ’13 and Lilia Xie ’14. Particularly effective is the regimented number that accompanies the extended portrayal of Shui Ta’s tobacco factory. Also highlighted in that scene is the skillful choreography of Jeffrey Kuperman ’12, which deftly captures the methodical ruthlessness central to Shui Ta’s personality. Kuperman deserves special credit for being the only undergraduate primarily responsible for a production element of the show.

With an accomplished cast, access to the Berlind Theatre (a venue unavailable to most Princeton student productions) and strong input from professionals, this fall show by the Program in Theater was destined to rank near the top of the heap of Princeton productions. Indeed, the comparatively lavish resources available to “The Good Person of Setzuan,” and the relatively small role that Princeton undergraduates played in crafting its direction and design, make it difficult to meaningfully and fairly compare it with a typical production of a student theater company.

What makes this production exemplary is that the undergraduate actors consistently embrace the opportunities made available to them, rising to the occasion to deliver complex performances. Walking in on opening night I expected to see nothing less than Princeton theater at its very best. That’s exactly what I got.

5 Paws

Pros Brilliant acting showcasing Brecht’s theatrical vision.

Cons Few students involved in the technical aspects of the production.