THEATER REVIEWS : ‘Elephant Man’ Rises Above the Difficulties

The original script of Bernard Pomerance’s “The Elephant Man” has no stage directions or scenic descriptions. Like Shakespeare, he notes where the scene occurs, and who exits and enters. It is a director’s play, to do with as he or she will.

David Wayne Elliott, director of this production at Concordia University, might have painted himself into a visual corner by the looks of Andrei Paul Hedstrom’s setting, with its doors that delay some of the rapid appearances in the short scenes that make up the dramatization of the last days of England’s John Merrick, the Elephant Man. (Rob Wolter’s excellent lighting design could have easily set the scenes.)

If the action is not as fluid as it might be because of this, and if his cast is too young, for the most part, it is to his credit that the inner rhythms of Pomerance’s vignettes are on target and that, at least in his three principals, the age barrier is hurdled without a problem.

Steve Hinman is a striking Merrick, with his twisted body and skewed face, his guttural delivery of the lines impressively free of mawkishness or guile. In Hinman’s reading, Merrick’s intelligence and emotional balance are clear-cut and touching.

As Frederick Treves, the doctor who rescues Merrick, gives him a home and self-respect, Derek Scally makes the viewer forget his youth, with a solid British public-school accent and a formidable reserve, along with a weighty sense of Treves’ feelings of responsibility for his charge.

Lyndsay Kahler is on the same wavelength as Hinman and Scally, as the actress Mrs. Kendal, who not only becomes Merrick’s best friend, but also introduces him to London society, including a few royals. The warmth and humor of Kahler’s well-rounded characterization work well opposite Hinman’s gentle Merrick.

Chris Tornow, as the hospital administrator Carr Gomm, rises above some unclear diction to capably portray Gomm’s grudging pomposity, and David Rueter’s Ross, the man who made a living displaying Merrick in a sideshow, is a good sketch of a low-life hustler. But even a low-life Englishman would know that Merrick’s hometown Leicester is pronounced “Lester.” Richard A. Duenez also does well as the finagling Lord John.

In spite of a supporting cast that isn’t very capable in even its limited chores on stage--including the sideshow “Pinheads,” who look like giggling cheerleaders on a break--Elliott’s leading actors forcefully make Pomerance’s point about being different, and the stupidity and fear that keep so many people from looking beyond an individual’s superficial differences to find the fundamental similarities.

* “The Elephant Man,” Concordia University, 1530 Concordia West, Irvine. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday matinee, 2 p.m. Ends Sunday. $5-$7. (714) 854-8002. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes. Steve Hinman John Merrick

Derek Scally: Frederick Treves

Lyndsay Kahler: Mrs. Kendal

Chris Tornow: Carr Gomm

David Rueter: Ross

Richard A. Duenez: The Man/Lord John

A Concordia University Theatre Department production of Bernard Pomerance’s drama. Directed by David Wayne Elliott. Lighting: Rob Wolter. Scenic design: Andrei Paul Hedstrom. Costume director: Candace Weiss. Stage manager: Johanna Horrocks.