Henry James went back to his boyhood Manhattan
neighborhood as a setting for his novel "Washington Square,"
a familiar tale of a young, defenseless person trying to escape
from the tyranny of an older, more knowledgeable adult.
"Washington Square" is about the coming-of-age of Catherine
Sloper, the shy daughter of the wealthy and sharp-tongued Dr.
Austin Sloper. Catherine is courted by the impoverished but attractive
Morris Townsend, who woos her, wins her and then abandons her
when he learns that her father will disinherit her if she marries
him.
Years later, after Dr. Sloper dies, Townsend returns with pledges
of love and excuses for his poor behavior.
Although James himself attempted playwriting, his plays were
all more or less unsuccessful. It wasn’t until Ruth and Augustus
Goetz adapted James’ novel into "The Heiress" that
the dramatic possibilities of the novel were realized.
"The Heiress" is now being staged at the Boerum Hill
Arts Center, under the direction of Stephen Hart. The play stars
Caroline Treadwell as Catherine Sloper, Matthew Lee as Morris
Townsend and Hart as Dr. Austin Sloper.
"The Heiress" also features an outstanding performance
by Coulter Kent as Lavinia Penniman, Dr. Sloper’s sister.
Treadwell gives a subtle and solid performance as the tongue-tied
young lady who gradually grows in stature and maturity. Until
the very end she keeps the audience guessing about whether she
will believe Morris’s professions of love and accept his excuses.
Nor is Morris a typical villain. Lee is almost as convincing
with the audience as he is with Catherine. Even when the play
is over, Lee leaves the audience questioning whether Catherine
could be better off with his somewhat insincere love than with
no love at all.
Perhaps the most complex character in "The Heiress,"
however, is Dr. Sloper. Clearly, he loves his daughter and wants
the best for her – as he sees it. But he also believes she is
a pale substitute for his wife, a vivacious and vibrant woman
who died in childbirth. If Catherine sees herself as worthless
and inadequate, it’s easy to see who first created that image.
Yet Hart insightfully does not make the doctor a cruel man, but
rather a misguided, inflexible father. If he is not lovable,
he is certainly not detestable.
The entire action of "The Heiress" takes place in the
Slopers’ upstairs parlor, which has been meticulously designed
by Susan Ryan, Steven Manos-Jones, Audra Graziano and Noel Vasquez,
down to the last doily. The characters glide in and out of this
room dressed in lavish period clothing – top hats and bonnets,
capes and gloves, frills and fobs. One cannot help but wonder
what wonderful treasure chest costume coordinator Anne-Marie
Gotfried has rummaged through. (The costumes were, in fact, rented
from the Theater Development Fund’s costume collection.) Few
local theaters ever produce a piece so visually pleasing.
Like most of James’ work, "Washington Square" relies
heavily on psychological perception, experience and present reality
to develop abiding moral themes. This made his novels extremely
powerful at the end of the 19th century when they were written.
But it is a double-edged sword. In his notes to the audience,
Hart writes, "1850 is an era that feels both familiar and
distant to New Yorkers."
He then goes on to talk about thriving commerce, street crime,
a class-conscious society, the need to control every aspect of
life from fashion to finance, and the defined roles of men and
women – a fine mix of the familiar and distant. In fact, one
could make a good case that today much of James work seems dated
and inconsequential on the surface.
Nevertheless, James’ writing, and works based on his writing
are not so easily relegated to the back of the bookcase. Those
who are willing to overlook the plodding phrases and the archaic
characters will find more than a few kernels of wisdom and eventually
a glimpse at a truth that age can never tarnish.
If at first "The Heiress" seems awkward, slow and verbose,
after a short while, many in the audience will find themselves
almost unwillingly drawn to the characters and into the plot.
James and his dramatist interpreters have done what all good
artists do. They have made others care about what they have to
say.
"The Heiress" plays through
June 17, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 pm; Sunday at 3 pm.
Tickets are $10, $5 seniors, students and children. The Boerum
Hill Arts Center is located at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church,
490 Pacific St. at Third Avenue.
Tickets are on sale at The Melting Pot, 494 Atlantic Ave.; Breukelen,
369 Atlantic Ave.; and Musicians General Store, 213 Court St.
For more information, call (718) 855-9865.
