Review of Woyzeck by Georg Buchner adapted/translated by Lucas Hnath
Directed by Jyana S. Gregory
Music by Rika Iino
Produced by Active Eye

Active Eye's production of Woyzeck is an eclectic blend of Asian movement theater, a multimedia sound/light /puppet/music event classic western theater and a dash of Vaudeville for spice.  It is an inspired production and all of the disparate elements blend organically, that is we have no trouble accepting the many conventions of the play. Unfortunately, this otherwise magnificent production is hindered by some lightweight performances.  Ultimately, no matter how masterful the direction, musical, and design elements are, a play's success, especially in a piece as essentially character-driven as Woyzeck, depends on the actor's ability to make us feel and to take us on the journey.  
Woyceck's world is savage and inhumane.  No one, including Woyzeck himself ever acts nobly, acting on animal instinct instead of according to the dictates of human conscience.  Ms. Gregory has chosen to emphasize the archetypal nature of the oppressive forces in Woyzeck's miserable life.  These characters resemble Batman villains, complete with costumes and sound effects, a wonderful choice.  The doctor (played with sadistic glee by Andrew Grusetskie) who performs humiliating experiments on Woyzeck is clad in a white body suit and carries a cane.  The Captain who never ceases to point out to Woyzeck what a pathetic excuse for a man he is, is played by a woman (Kristine Kuroiwa) in an outrageous fat suit.  Even his wife, Marie, played by a stunning Soraya Broukhim, looks like the platonic form of "whore."
The problem is that the actors (with the exception of Grusetskie and Broukhim) don't quite fill the costumes with enough personality to create a serious Hall of Villains.  The Drum Major (James Shubert) is small in stature, slightly effeminate and soft-spoken, the Captain is chipper and youthful and only externally gross.  The most serious problem, however, is the performance of Dustin Tucker as Woyzeck.  This role is tricky to cast in the same way Saint Joan and Romeo are in that they require actors of tremendous stature and consummate skill attained by years of stage time and life experience, but the characters are very young.  Woyzeck is thirty years old, young for an actor, but the pain of a lifetime of hardship and countless betrayals must be evident in the voice and carriage of the actor.  Tucker appears to be well under thirty and his Woyzeck is neurotic and frenzied, with energy to spare.  His journey is only interesting if he lives in quiet desperation and then kills his wife when her betrayal of him makes his life unbearable.   It is the piling on of degradation and indignity that cause this sinned-against person to become the sinner.  Tucker simply never takes us on that journey.
The technical elements of this production are splendid.  Rika Iino's dissonant score underscores Woyzeck's despair and enhances the nightmarish quality of the piece, as does Ben Brown's sound design.  The precision with which light and sound cues are executed is impressive as footsteps and monetary exchanges are accented by sound effects (which were unfortunately muddled by the ambient noise outside the theater and a noisy heating system).  The set (designed by Takeshi Kata) resembles a Duchamp exhibition, with pieces of found art gracefully littering the stage.
The direction is superb.  Gregory has taken all of these different elements and seamlessly knit them into a unified style.  Kabuki and No influences were evident in the graceful, ritualized movement of the actors and the makeup and costumes, which are non-representational and mask-like.  She has a keen sense of composition, and the action jumped all over the stage without ever jarring the audience.  If the acting had just been stronger, this might have been deeply satisfying, powerful theater.

Woyzeck runs until March 16
The Culture Project @ 45 Bleecker
45 Bleecker Street, NYC 10012
For tickets call 212-330-7126 or visit www.theatermania.com
Presented by Active Eye, visit http://www.activeeye.org