Bert Emmett and members of the ensemble (Photo by Doug Engalla)
Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
The Group Rep
Through June 29
“We are not in the business of morality; we are in the business of business,” one character declares in playwright Lee Hall’s 2017 adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky’s screenplay for the 1976 film Network. While this characterization of news media may have shocked 50 years ago, it was prescient. An iconic film, Networkskewered the then-burgeoning and what is now complete corporate control of the media, which has put profit before principles and created multi-millionaire news personalities more concerned with their jobs than with serving the public.
Considering the insidious roles corporate media and reality TV play nowadays, it is understandable why Hall revisited Chayefsky’s critique of the commodification of the news and its destructive effect on democracy. Regrettably, Hall’s script and Tom Lazarus’s direction lack the punch of the original, an understandable conundrum given the venerated status of the film that the play and this production are based on.
It is 1975, and a demoralized U.S.A., reeling from a slew of other political calamities, is desperate for hope. In New York City, veteran TV news anchor Howard Beale (Bert Emmett) also longs for hope as his personal tragedies, falling ratings, and a snowballing drinking problem have gotten him fired. With nothing else going for him, he announces on air that he will commit suicide the following week on live national TV, morbidly joking that his ratings should go up to “a 50 share, easy.”
At first, Howard’s boss and longtime friend Max Schumacher (Larry Toffler) fights off corporate hatchet man Frank Hackett (Tack Sappington), who pulls Howard off the air. However, when Howard’s on-air apology turns into an angry rant, it strikes a chord with viewers, increasing his ratings and the network’s profitability. Cunning programming chief Diana Christensen (Anica Petrovic) wants to turn Howard’s news program into an entertainment show and promote Howard as “an angry prophet denouncing the hypocrisies of our time.” This enrages Max, who feels the integrity of his news division is at stake, but Diana convinces Frank to approve the change. What could go wrong?
One problem with Lazarus’s direction is that certain pivotal moments are watered down or overdramatized. In Beale’s scene with the CEO of the network’s corporate owner, Arthur Jensen (Fox Carney), Jensen comes off less a rabid evangelist for capitalism, putting the fear of God into Beale, and more of a teddy bear. And a scene where Schumacher’s wife Louise (Belinda Howell) confronts her spouse on his philandering has Howell’s Louise leaning into histrionics of the stereotypical wronged wife.
On the other hand, Emmett proffers a sympathetic portrayal of the wild-eyed Howard, a once noble man driven mad by an increasingly ignoble world and whose signature line of dialogue — “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore” — still resonates. Toffler offers gravitas and humor in his take on Max, whose contradictory code of honor calls for honor at work but not at home. Sappington exudes suitable smarminess as Frank, constantly primed to exploit a contradiction. Extra kudos go to Petrovic and her impressively last-minute take-on of the role of Diana, all with script in hand, which should only improve if she sticks with it.
Lazarus’s set design, which includes news desk, control room, and assorted offices and living spaces, add to the verisimilitude of the play, as does Ellen Monocroussos’ lighting design.
The Group Rep Theatre, 10900 Burbank Blvd., N. Hollywood.; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru June 29. https://thegrouprep.com/ Running time two hours and 20 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.
