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"There is a difference between knowing the truth and speaking it," Hester Prynne says to her daughter, Pearl, in Plan-B Theatre Company's premiere production of Jenifer Nii's insightful and incisive adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
Three of the play's four characters are caught in this gap between speech and knowledge, and the consequences are cataclysmic. Only Pearl, who acts as the play's voice of reality, feels free to speak her mind.
Nii's adaptation is a paradoxical combination: With the accuracy of a surgeon's scalpel, she pares away Hawthorne's external details to their stark essence and lays bare the secrets of the human heart; then she clothes the play in dense, poetic, and emotionally searing language that is, at times, breathtaking.
Arthur Dimmesdale says, "We all must keep our secrets," and at its core, "The Scarlet Letter" is a play about secrets and the cost of keeping them: Who is the father of Hester's child? Who is Roger Chillingworth, and what are his motives? Why is Minister Dimmesdale wasting away in front of his parishioners' eyes despite their love and esteem?
Pearl asks, "Why should we be silent when there is so much to say?" but those around her remain frozen in their inarticulate isolation until their fate is sealed.
But this play is about much more than that: interwoven into its rich fabric are the paradoxical themes of judgment and forgiveness, guilt and redemption, betrayal and revenge, honesty and hypocrisy. Its most powerful moments result when characters break through their self-imposed limitations to touch each other.
Plan-B's production is stark and straightforward, grounded by Randy Rasmussen's monolithic wooden scaffold set with its iconic cross, a synthesis of condemnation and salvation. Jesse Portillo's soft, muted spotlighting highlights characters and focuses attention. Phillip Lowe's period costumes are subdued and austere, a sharp contrast to Pearl's vibrant red dress. Director Cheryl Cluff's rich sound design combines the gossiping whispers of the enveloping Puritan community we never see with a capella choral music, much of it religious and centered on the "Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)."
The performances are nothing short of amazing. Lauren Noll's Hester is an elusive combination of practical and enigmatic, stoical and compassionate. There's not an ounce of self-pity in her portrayal. David Fetzer's Arthur Dimmesdale is the definitive portrait of a man in torment, tragically caught between his calling to serve his congregation and his need to redeem himself and save his soul. The scene when these two are finally able to talk to each other is the play's emotionally compelling center.
As Roger Chillingworth, Mark Fossen is a brooding, malevolent hulk of vengeance, obdurate and invulnerable. When he says, "I have no power to pardon," he reveals the extent of his obsession. And Claire Wilson's Pearl is an animated free spirit: outspoken, impulsive, slightly naughty, and eerily wise beyond her years. Cluff's direction is economical yet emotionally intuitive, unfailingly underlining and illuminating the nuances of Nii's text.
We may remember The Scarlet Letter as a stodgy classic we had to plow through during our school days, but the rigid oppressiveness of the black-and-white judging it depicts is alarmingly prevalent in today's society. In getting to the core of these characters, Nii makes a poignant plea for empathy and understanding.
'The Scarlet Letter'
Jenifer Nii's eloquent adaptation and Plan-B's emotionally accessible production breathe exciting new life into an American classic.
When • Reviewed Thursday, April 12; continues Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. through April 22.
Where • Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center's Studio Theatre, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $20 ($10 students), at 801-355-ARTS or http://www.planbtheatre.org
Running time • 80 minutes, no intermissionWhen • Reviewed Thursday, April 12; continues