The Arsonists – Original play by Max Frisch. Translation by Alistair Beaton. Directed by Bob Scanlan. Costume Design by Maureen Festa. Lighting Design by Kevin Fulton. Sound Design by Mackenzie Adamick. Presented by Praxis Stage. At Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet Street, Chelsea, MA, through Sept. 15.
by Mike Hoban
“When people show you who they are – believe them” – Maya Angelou
There’s not a lot of subtlety in the point of view being expressed in Praxis Stage’s production of The Arsonists, the 1953 work by Swiss playwright dramatist Max Frisch, but the play still delivers a chilling reminder of how our mainstream media has warped our ability to apply critical thinking to even the most obvious of choices. Praxis was formed on November 9th, 2016, as a response to the election of Trump with the goal of linking theater and activism, and it’s never been more starkly on display than here.
The show opens with some Woody Guthrie-styled lefty folk tunes (“The Hangman Song” by Jean Ritchie, the Mountain Goats’ “Up the Wolves” and “The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death” by the Housemartins) sung by Boston chanteuse Miss Mary Mac (in her trademark red feather boa) and a backing band, and is followed by an impassioned prologue by actor Michael Anderson. Wearing a bowling shirt adorned with flames, he equates the play to our current political situation, comparing it to a drug war by using some pretty clever addiction-related wordplay (“They’re not looking for the fire escape, because the fire IS the escape”). The analysis, while accurate, removes any ambiguity from what we’re about to see.
The play opens with Gottlieb Biedermann (Kim H. Carrell), owner of a business that sells “hair rejuvenator,” reading the paper and angrily telling his maid Anna that the arsonists who are burning down the city should all be hung. He is perplexed that anyone would fall for their simple ploy – the protagonists knock on a door, con their way into the home, wrangle a bed for the night from the homeowner, and then burn the house to the ground. Who would even let them in?
Biedermann apparently. Anna (Stephanie Charlton), the maid, interrupts Biedermann’s dinner and ushers in Schmitz, a hulking homeless former wrestler (Daniel Boudreau, with a slicked-back blonde dye job) who is seeking “a little humanity.” Thinking himself a man of good conscience (despite the fact that he fired an employee for daring to ask for a share of the profits for inventing the very product that Biederman has made his fortune from), he allows the roguish Schmitz to charm him into serving him a meal and giving him a bed in his attic. The next day, Schmitz invites his ex-head waiter friend, Eisenring (a quietly brilliant Zair Silva), to stay with him, which upsets Biedermann and his wife Babette (Julia Trueblood), but neither can summon the courage to evict the interlopers, as they beguile and not-so-subtly bully the couple into submission. Only Anna, the skeptical maid, is able to see the arsonists for who they are, but given that she is of a lower class, the Biedermans pay no heed to her protestations and eye rolls.
As the requests become more and more insane (including allowing the arsonists to store a couple of dozen full gas cans in the attic, for starters), the play becomes more like an absurd sitcom – with a deeply ominous undertone – until the predictably tragic ending. The Arsonists (also known as The Firebugs or The Fire Raisers) is updated to reflect today’s surreal political landscape and even includes phrases associated with the MAGA movement, like “fake news.” The production also includes a Greek chorus that – while imparting some interesting ideas – seems like overkill and pads an already long production.
Boudreau and Silva are well-cast. The towering Boudreau, who looks as if he could body slam half the cast without working up a sweat, alternates between menacing and boyishly charming as he cajoles the Biedermanns into giving him whatever he wants. Silva, as Eisenring, is perfect as the brains of the operation, adroitly outsmarting the arrogant Biedermann at every turn by convincing him that every scheme designed to destroy him is HIS idea. Charlton and Trueblood are effective in their diminished roles, and Trueblood has an especially good scene where – appearing genuinely tipsy – she appears to relish the company of the thugs, possibly as a break from her stick-in-the-mud conservative husband. As Biedermann, Carrell gives an uneven performance. In some moments, he seems fully invested in the character, while in others, he appears to be searching for who he is.
Despite what some would describe as the heavy-handedness of some of the material (the 12-page program dedicates 11 pages of educational material and just one for listing the cast, band, and design team), they’re also effectively sounding the alarm about the dangers of not questioning those in power, especially with a compromised mainstream media and Supreme Court. Praxis is on a mission to educate, and they absolutely accomplish that, but there’s also a good, often funny, play in there, too. And while you may not want to bring your Fox-watching uncle to this show, it’s worth the drive over the bridge to Chelsea (the newly renovated Black Box is an intimate and comfortable space for small theater) – especially if you lean to the left. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6380689
