648
(0 votes, average 0 out of 5)
Written by Harry Cherkinian
Apr 8, 2010
“The Value of Names” is at the Off-Broadway Theatre in Milwaukee.
During the 1940s and 1950s, the House Un-American Activities Committee ran its own “inquisition,” demanding the names of those who were allegedly communists. The Red Scare swept the country, ruining careers, destroying reputations, damaging lives in its wake. Names were changed to try to survive what President Harry S. Truman labeled in 1959 as “the most un-American thing in the country today.”
Jeffrey Sweet’s play “The Value of Names” picks up the trail in 1981 of the accused – and the accuser – when they meet and reopen what victim Benny Silverman calls “ancient scars.” Silverman had refused to name names and survived to become a successful sitcom actor. When his daughter Norma embarks on her own acting career and decides to change her name to avoid her (in)famous father’s spotlight, the value of his name comes to signify the fight and the unhealed wounds of the 1950s witch hunt.
Complicating the matter is when Norma’s new director turns out to be the man who wrongly named her father so that his career might survive and grow.
Fortunately, a strong cast rises above some of the preachiness of Act 2 and its zingers and one-liners. As director Leo Greshen (think Elia Kazan, “On the Waterfront,” “A Streetcar Named Desire”), John Kishline subtly balances complex emotions: guilt, confusion, the simple earnestness of wanting to put the past behind him. “You collect old injuries,” he says to his former friend, accusing Silverman of “romanticizing persecution.”
As the unforgiving Silverman, Robert Spencer keeps us guessing as to whether he will forgive his accuser – and daughter – and move on with life. Spencer, a fine actor, shines as the curmudgeonly Silverman, one minute eliciting empathy, another our disdain for his unrelenting need to keep the pain of the past thrust forward into those who cross his path.
In a limited and thankless role, Kelsey Brennan does what she can as Norma, more a foil for the two men than a character in her own right. Yet Brennan manages to keep Norma focused and strong while deciding her own course of action.
What’s in a name? It all depends on where you choose to live – past or present, forgiving or unforgiving, wounded or healed.
On stage
“The Value of Names” runs through May 2 at the Off-Broadway Theatre, 342 N. Water St., 2nd Floor. For more information, call 414-278-0765 or visit www.nextact.org.
