It overwhelms all opposition/ It needs to grow or else it dies /What else is war but competition/ A profit-building enterprise?
- from the song Mother Courage (And The Threat of Peace), from "Mother Courage and Her Children" by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht is not subtle.
Oh, but he is brilliant.
The Rogue Theatre showed a bit of courage itself staging Brecht's masterpiece, "Mother Courage and Her Children," a sprawling play with music, murder, war and some of the most despicable characters seen on stage.
And it worked.
At Friday's opening night, Cynthia Meier stepped into the iconic role of Mother Courage and gave the woman who profits off war a nasty streak and, hidden deep inside, a heart.
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Now, Brecht may not be too happy about that heart part - the German playwright wanted audiences to engage on an intellectual level with his work, not an emotional one.
But the devastation of war and greed seeps into nearly every word and movement of this play; you can't help but engage on an intellectual level about the wages of war, but it's near impossible to not be moved by the inhumanity and awful waste of life that Brecht railed against.
Mother Courage loses three children to the war, has loved and lost many times, and sees destruction with nearly every tug of the canteen wagon she hauls around during Europe's 30-year war. That wagon is loaded with goods she sells to soldiers. No war, no soldiers, no profits.
It's all gotta wear on even the most hardhearted, and Mother Courage is among the most hardhearted.
Meir gave us glimpses of the character's pain, but quickly allowed her greed - and need for survival - to cover it up. This resulted in a production that fascinated for a little more than 2 1/2 hours.
Brecht is not easy. He hits you over the head again and again with his message about war, profiteering and how the working class can so easily play a role in its own oppression. Mother Courage repels and fascinates. Sure it's a sermon. But it's a sermon that you can't close your ears and eyes to.
Brecht is also funny. And director Joseph McGrath and his cast saw to it that the black humor was given full breadth. Important, that - to be blasted with so much horror, one must have some relief. Otherwise it is easy to become numb.
This is a large cast. Brecht often gave vague shadings to his lesser characters, so some of the weak spots in The Rogue's production did not overshadow the whole.
David Morden's turn as the Chaplain was well-drawn out. It is a character who shows signs of compassion but, like Courage and most of the others, he ends up learning little.
Dylan Page had the difficult role of Kattrin, Courage's daughter and the one character who has not let the war harden her. It should have - Kattrin is a mute and physically scarred as a result of abuses by soldiers. Page has to get all her emotions and thoughts across without saying a word, and she does that with eloquence.
Brecht filled this play with songs, but no music. Tucsonan Tim Blevins stepped in to do the score, and his music spoke to the sadness, outrageousness and humor of the lyrics.
Sure, "Mother Courage and Her Children" is a difficult night at the theater. But this Rogue production shows that it is also a necessary one.
Review
• What: The Rogue Theatre's production of "Mother Courage and Her Children."
• By: Bertolt Brecht, adapted by David Hare. Original music is by Tucson composer Tim Blevins.
• Director: Joseph McGrath.
• When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 27. There is an additional matinee at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26.
• Where: The Rogue, 300 E. University Blvd. in the Historic Y.
• Tickets: $20 for Thursday performances; $30 for Fridays-Sundays. $15 student rush tickets are available 15 minutes before curtain with student ID.
• Running time: About 2 hours 35 minutes, including one intermission.
• Cast: Matt Bowdren, Dani Dryer, Connor Foster, Marissa Garcia, David Greenwood, Craig Howard, Christopher Johnson, Ryan Parker Knox, Cynthia Meier, David Morden, Steve McKee, Dylan Page, Lee Rayment and Renie Sweeney.
• Et cetera: Preshow music starts 15 minutes before curtain; you don't want to miss that, if possible.
