Sweet Revenge
by Aleksander Fredro
Translated from the Polish by Philip Boehm
Directed by Philip Boehm
Upstream Theater
October 12, 2017
Whit Reichert, John Contini
Photo by ProPhotoSTL
Upstream Theater
Upstream Theater is bringing a Polish comedy classic to the stage with style. Aleksander Fredro’s Zemsta (or “Revenge”) may not be as well known in the United States, but it’s extremely famous in Poland, and Upstream’s director Philip Boehm has now brought it to the stage in St. Louis, with the added bonus of paying tribute to a Polish-American theatrical troupe that was active here in the mid-2oth Century. It’s a fun show, with excellent staging and a great cast.
Sweet Revenge, as Boehm has titled his translation, is given the framing device of being a 1933 performance by the Julius Slowacki Theatrical Society, which is a real company with which cast member John Bratkowski and several of his family members were involved. In the opening scene, the cast members sing a Polish song and an audience member (Eric Conners) sings along, whereupon he is noticed by the cast and invited to join them in performing the play, since they are apparently one actor short for their play. From there, until the very last scene that revisits the framing device, the play proceeds in a straightforward manner. The story follows feuding neighbors Czesnik (Whit Reichert) and Milczek (John Contini), who already hate each other but then dispute over the repair of a wall that separates their property. To further complicate the story, several people are vying for the hand of Czesnik’s ward, Klara (Caitlin Mickey), including Czesnik’s friend Papkin (Bratkowski), Czesnik himself (at first), and Milczek’s son, Waclaw (Pete Winfrey), who Klara actually loves. There’s also the widow Hanna (Jane Paradise), who Papkin pursuades Czesnik to woo but who has an agenda of her own that involves Waclaw. In the midst of all this romantic scheming, Czesnik and Milczek are both intent on doing whatever it takes to get “sweet revenge” and emerge victorious in their years-long feud.
The play is inventively staged, with a traditional proscenium set-up as would be fitting for a performance in the 1930s. The set by Patrick Huber is colorful and appropriately whimsical, with excellent work by scenic artists Erica Ahl, Mary Hopkins, and Cristie Johnston to help set the scene. There’s also strong work from lighting designer Steve Carmichael, prop designer A. S. Freeman, and costume designer Laura Hanson, helping to present the play in a way that is both true to its comic style and to the way it might have been presented in 1933 St. Louis. The framing device, while not strictly necessary and not really having much bearing on the actual plot of the play, still works well enough to call attention to the importance of this play in Polish culture, as well as communicating a message of diversity and reconciliation that is timely now as it would have been in 1933.
As for the play itself, it’s hilarious, with crisp staging and broadly drawn characters, and a rhyming verse structure that is handled extremely well by translator and director Philip Boehm and the cast. The cast is extremely strong, as well, led by Reichert and Contini in excellent form as the stubbornly feuding neighbors, and by Bratkowski as the hapless, self-serving Papkin. It’s a great cast all around, as well, with excellent comic timing by all, and good chemistry between Mickey and Winfrey as the young lovers caught in the midst of all the scheming. Paradise, as Hanna, and Conners as the audience member and in three different roles in the play, are also impressive. This is a very funny play, especially as the plot gets even more complicated as it goes on, and the whole cast rises to the challenge presented by such a broad, physical type of comedy.
Ultimately, Sweet Revenge works well as both a comedy and a bit of a history lesson, as a present-day St. Louis theatre company pays tribute to one from the city’s past, and to an important Polish theatrical work. As is usual with Upstream, it’s an impeccably cast production, as well. It’s well worth seeing.
Cast of Sweet Revenge
Photo by ProPhotoSTL
Upstream Theater
Upstream Theater is presenting Sweet Revenge at the Kranzberg Arts Center until October 22, 2017.
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