Isabella DiBernardino, Peter Gregory and Maria O’Connor (Photo by Joy Daunis)
Reviewed by G. Bruce Smith
Theatre Palisades
Through April 28
RECOMMENDED
Like many of Arthur Miller’s protagonists, Eddie, the main character in A View from the Bridge, is a tragic figure in true Shakespearean fashion — he is the victim of his own fatal flaw. And that is what makes the play, currently on view at Theatre Palisades, so compelling. With themes of love, honor, illegal immigration and more also woven into the story, the production becomes an even richer experience.
The story, set in 1955, is introduced by Alfieri (Jason Culp), a lawyer who is a friend of Eddie’s and who acts as a kind of Greek chorus. Eddie (Peter Gregory), his wife Beatrice (Maria O’Connor) and his niece Catherine (Isabella DiBernardino) are living a good, if somewhat financially straitened life in Red Hook, New York, a working class neighborhood of mostly Italian immigrants. Eddie, a dockworker, is an affectionate and loving uncle to Catherine, who in turn is very fond of him. But Eddie’s devotion to Catherine veers into unhealthy territory when his family takes in two of Beatrice’s Italian cousins, who have entered the country illegally. At first, Eddie is fully supportive of offering shelter to the two brothers — Marco (Monty Renfrow), whose children are facing death from starvation, and Rodolpho (Darren M.B.), a charismatic blond guy who loves to sing, cook and dance. When Rodolpho and Catherine begin dating and fall in love, Eddie’s jealousy becomes obsessive and leads him to take an action that leads to his downfall.
While the family drama — and to a lesser extent, the dynamics of Eddie’s relationship with his fellow dockworkers and friends — drive the narrative, the play also raises questions about immigration that resonate in our highly charged debate on the issue today. Marco has made the journey to New York in a desperate attempt to feed his children and wife. The stakes for him are truly life and death, coming as he does from in a country that has not nearly enough work for its people much like the current immigrants from Central America). Marco plans eventually to return to Italy but Rodolpho plans to stay to pursue the American dream.
Even the physical structures involved in Miller’s drama and at America’ southern borders here become powerful metaphors — but in very different ways. In the play, the bridge that connects Red Hook to the economic promise of Manhattan is just that — a link. The bridge may never be traversed, but it’s there within reach for hopeful immigrants. But at our borders currently we have — a wall. Barriers. Yes, immigration officials were tough in the 1950s. But perhaps Miller gives us a slightly more hopeful image of immigration, at least symbolically, than what exists today.
The production at Theatre Palisades is excellent in every way. It’s clear that director Cate Caplin has taken a deep and thoughtful approach to the text, reflected in the staging and her guidance of the actors. They are uniformly exceptional, with special kudos to Gregory, who captures so brilliantly Eddie’s increasing agitation that you know things cannot end well.
The set (Sherman Wayne) and costumes (Michael Mullen) are perfect period replicas that put the audience smack dab in a working class neighborhood in the middle of the 1950s.
Where the play might feel dated is in the time it takes to get into the action. My guess is that modern audiences — with their notoriously shorter attention spans — might want things to move along a little more quickly, at the top of the show and maybe even in a couple of scenes in the first act.
Despite that, the works of Arthur Miller, one of the greatest of American playwrights, remains timeless and important to see for generations to come.
Theatre Palisades’ Pierson Playhouse, 941 Temescal Canyon Road, Pacific Palisades; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm., Sun., 2 pm; theatrepalisades.org. Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes with intermission.
