Recommended
Trap Door Theatre’s presentation of “Galileo” stays close to the heart of Bertolt Brecht’s script but is a challenging and thought-provoking interpretation.
Fragments of the original dialogue featuring a translation by Charles Laughton are there, but the production has been reshaped and reimagined by director Max Truax into a postmodern, avant-garde style.
The storyline is ostensibly about the struggle of the famed 17th Century mathematician and scientist Galileo Galilei who championed the then controversial notion that the Sun rather than the Earth was the center of our known universe. He employed the new invention of the telescope to prove his hypothesis.
For these heretical observations he was threatened with torture and ultimately sentenced to house arrest and forbidden to continue his research.
In reality, this is a story of unchecked centralized political and religious power repressing new ideas in order to keep the general populace ignorant and under control.
Brecht realized his version of “Galileo” in the midst of WWII which was largely precipitated by a rise in fascism throughout Europe. Echoes of intolerance continued to reverberate during the anti-communist movements of the late 1940s and 50s.
In the United States, the Red Scare and McCarthyism were on the rise making it no accident that Charles Laughton, a champion of modernist cinema and left-leaning causes would be attracted to the message of Brecht’s play. He successfully introduced it to a Los Angeles audience to reflect what was happening in the cultural climate of the day.
Interestingly, this current version of the play is much about the director’s vision. It’s notable that Truax graduated from Oberlin College where he studied visual art, performance art and choreography as this production could be a master’s thesis in the application of these art forms.
David Lovejoy as Galileo is literally the person around whom this entire production revolves. The blocking in this modernist staging has the players often moving in elliptical orbits around each other and most notably around Galileo himself as he is the central force.
Lovejoy is naked on stage at the beginning wearing only a flesh-colored dance belt for modesty. He is bathed in light looking not unlike the Sun itself. It soon becomes evident that, in essence, he as Galileo has exposed himself before the world. Any subsequent use of clothing is in direct relation to the degree of practical concessions he makes to the powers that be.
Joan Nahid is the blindfolded Inquisitor who ironically is the one keeping the most watchful eye on Galileo. Clothed in black and seemingly everywhere, she is “the void,” the chief tattletale and the very essence of ignorance. Andrea played by Shail Modi is Galileo’s young protégé and the foil for presenting his ideas to the audience. He is the future.
Galileo’s daughter Virginia (Genevieve Corkery) is a devoted Catholic. At least she is devoted to early morning visits to church and devoted to maintaining the status quo. Dressed in a floral blue dress and sporting blue eye shadow, she represents the Earth. She has little interest in scientific thought but she, like all of the planets, is caught within her father’s gravitational force and reflects his light.
Virginia’s suitor Ludovico (Caleb Lee Jenkins), is shallow as is she. But like a meteor, he is a potentially destructive force in the lives of father and daughter.
Fulganzio (Amber Washington) is a monk who sees the light and is at least intrigued by the teachings of Galileo.
Likewise, Cardinal Barberini (Gus Thomas) who later became Pope Urban VIII, was also educated in mathematics with a genuine interest in science. But he has to navigate and reconcile his scientific insights with the Church’s position on the new concept of heliocentrism. If the Earth was not the center of the Universe how will this affect the teachings of The Church and where might it lead?
Dan Cobbler has an important role as the Curator and other businessmen. He is a kind of one-man Greek chorus who fills many roles that would have been performed by multiple actors in a more traditional performance.
He is the voice of commerce who see the practical applications of new ideas but who also must avoid harm, being careful not to get too close to the sun. Cobbler’s performance has a comical element that offers some respite from what could become a most oppressive topic.
Largely done in contemporary attire (or lack of) with costumes by Rachel Sypniewski, Truax also uses several black and white vintage television sets that display only static. People with influence carry them about to communicate their thoughts to those in power.
Integration of multi-media is a feature of the modern epic theater movement as is social or political commentary. The same goes for breaking the fourth wall by speaking directly to the audience, done here very effectively.
Alluded to earlier, this production exploits highly choreographed movements. The players are very nearly always in motion, not unlike the motion of the planets. That gives this an almost music-less ballet quality.
Galileo is often stationary at which times he might strike a quite stylized pose, notably a time where Lovejoy in his nakedness is bent at a ninety-degree angle looking quite like Atlas carrying the weight of the world (or a Rodin sculpture).
The backdrop for this performance designed by Merje Veski is a multitude of sheets of black paper filled with notations, no doubt representing the many thoughts of the scientific master. Likewise, there is mathematical and scientific graffiti on the floor eliciting the effect of being surrounded, indeed engulfed within the mind of this genius.
DETAILS: “Galileo” is presented by Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland, Chicago, through June 14, 2025. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets and information can be had at trapdoortheatre.com or call (773) 384-0494.
Reviewer Reno Lovison reports that he appeared in a production of this play, traditionally staged, at the Goodman School of Drama, many years ago and was pleased to see this adaptation.
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