Flat ‘Cider’

“We strongly believe in [John] Irving’s concern for the well-being of every child born into this world and in a woman’s choice to decide whether or not she can provide this act of service.” While it is not my job to review program notes, these words, written by co-directors Tom Hulce and Jane Jones and playwright Peter Parnell, speak to the heart of what goes wrong onstage at the Mark Taper Forum during the two-part, six-hour adaptation of Irving’s novel “The Cider House Rules.” A theatergoer should approach with caution a play in which characters read to the audience an instruction pamphlet about how to properly use a condom.

It’s possible to love a book too much. Co-conceivers Hulce and Jones first produced “Cider House” at the Seattle Repertory in 1995 and ’96. They re-create Irving’s 1985 novel with fluid stagecraft, and they passionately state their strong belief that a world without legal, safe abortion is considerably more miserable than the alternative. What “Cider House” lacks is character growth, something one really wants from epic-length drama (though the play has been slimmed down by two hours since its Seattle opening). With one Part 1 exception, the characters are two-dimensional, unreal creatures who are shaped by terrific coincidences and are buffeted by suspiciously strong winds of fate. Homer Wells (Josh Hamilton), the promising orphan who turns into a passive young man, keeps hoping to become “the hero of my own life,” like his beloved David Copperfield. But Homer never really does, despite a neat and predictable ending.

“Cider House,” which opened at the Taper on Saturday, might even help persuade the minority of Americans who do not know where they stand on the right to an abortion. Irving believes in making the argument difficult, in squarely facing the ugly facts of abortion. The book is littered with stomach-challenging medical descriptions; onstage we see and hear about births, abortions and fetal autopsy, as well as gruesome botched abortions. As a young doctor just before the turn of the century, Wilbur Larch (Michael Winters) is torn apart by what he sees as the urgent need for abortion among the poor. When he refuses to help one young woman and she dies horribly, he knows what he must do.

As played by the always compelling Winters, Dr. Larch is the piece’s best character. In true Irving style, Larch’s reactions to the world are exaggerated. He has intercourse once, gets gonorrhea and never performs the act again. He dedicates himself to running the orphanage in St. Cloud’s, Maine, where he performs “the Lord’s work”--birthing--and “the Devil’s work”--abortion--both of which he believes are his duty. One orphan, Homer Wells, becomes his disciple. Homer is a useful, serious boy who, under Larch’s tutelage, acts as an unofficial doctor/assistant. And Larch grows to love him as a son.

The Taper production has supplied Part 2 with a much-needed engine--the grown-up Homer Wells becomes truly alive as he separates himself from Larch and passionately articulates his opposition to performing abortion. But Homer breaks free only to be caught in another overdetermined plot point. Homer has the good luck to be accepted into the home of the Worthingtons, wealthy owners of a coastal-Maine apple orchard. He has the bad luck to fall in love with Candy (Myra Platt), who is the girlfriend of his best friend, Wally Worthington (Patrick Wilson). At last, Homer’s life really begins, sort of. But a complicated set of guilt-inducing circumstances make it necessary for poor Homer to lie to the people closest to him. Homer is a martyr, and a martyr is not a very good hero for a long tale.

Of course Homer is well aware that he is not the hero of his own life. But this knowledge doesn’t seem to spur him on. Thanks to an 11th-hour crisis beyond his control, concerning an orchard worker named Mr. Rose (Kevin Jackson), Homer is forced to return to doctoring. He then experiences an epiphany that comes off as inorganic, unbelievable and preordained.

Along the way, his most memorable friend is the orphan Melony (Jullian Armenante), a large, angry girl who looks like Lou Costello in a dress. She is the bully of St. Cloud’s, and her fierce domination of Homer marks him early on as a person ruled by circumstance. Armenante is a natural scene-stealer and the play’s deepest comic pleasure. Hamilton is likable as Homer but, given the character’s reactive nature, does not make an indelible impression. As the long-suffering women on Larch’s dedicated staff, Jane Carr, Brenda Wehle and Jayne Taini are all strong. Tom Beyer is quite good playing two of the most memorable orphans, Fuzzy Stone and Mary Agnes.

Most people come to a hyper-long play with great expectations. “Cider House” is not boring, but, with the exception of a few scenes, it is not particularly moving. Its heart is squarely in public service. In the end, it never offers the huge sweep of emotion of works like “Nicholas Nickleby” that theatergoers who invest a large amount of time in a narrative rightfully deserve.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

* “Cider House Rules, Parts 1 & 2,” Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., (Parts 1 & 2 are paired and must be purchased together.) Tue. and Thur. (Parts 1 & 2), 8 p.m.; Wed. and Fri. (Parts 1 & 2), 8 p.m. Also marathon performances encompassing Parts 1 & 2 each day: Sat.-Sun., 2 and 7 p.m. Ends Sept. 27. $58-$80 (includes both parts). (213) 628-2772. Running time: 3 hours each part.

Michael Winters: Dr. Wilbur Larch

Josh Hamilton: Homer Wells

Jillian Armenante: Melony

Jane Carr: Nurse Edna

Brenda Wehle: Nurse Angela

Myra Platt: Candy

Patrick Wilson: Wally

Kevin Jackson: Mr. Rose

A Mark Taper Forum production. Adapted by Peter Parnell. From the novel by John Irving. Conceived and directed by Tom Hulce and Jane Jones. Sets John Arnone. Costumes David Zinn. Lights James F. Ingalls. Sound Jon Gottlieb. Original music/musical director Dan Wheetman. Production stage manager Amy Fritz.