Theater Review (NYC): Woyzeck by Georg Buchner at UNDER St. Marks and BAM

Woyzeck, an infinitely malleable, intellectually fascinating play that beat Brecht to the punch of modern theater by a century, is a director’s dream. Left unfinished by Georg Buchner before his death of typhus at the age of 23, Woyzeck has been adapted, blown up, and ripped apart countless times by countless translators, directors (of stage and film), and librettists. Part of the play’s very legacy is its ability to be manipulated.

But calling Woyzeck malleable doesn’t even begin to describe its multiple levels of complexity, addressing, as it does, crises that are as much existential, linguistic, and ethical as they are social, economic, and political. It should come as no surprise that we see two very different stagings of Woyzeck at the same time, one in one of the most notorious off-off-Broadway theaters in the East Village, the other in an opera house at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. What is surprising however, is the dynamic between the two.

Let’s compare the two descriptions of the play:

1. A relatively straightforward, conservative staging, with the main innovation being a group of sirens torturing a conflicted, sympathetic Woyzeck into committing his murderous act. A nymphomaniac Marie who is killed by stabbing. Set against the backdrop of the War in Iraq, with “Amazing Grace” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” featured heavily. Virtually flawless execution.
2. A wild, ravenous production by an Icelandic theater troupe, featuring circus theatricals, an industrial set, a beach ball, and a ridiculous use of a pool. Punk rock enfant terrible Nick Cave wrote the music and lyrics (along with Warren Ellis). Marie is played as a conflicted, sympathetic women in a Snow White dress caught in an impossible situation by a suave Drum Major in a purple suit. A pathetic, monkey-like Woyzeck in his underwear, which looks like a diaper. Multiple problems with the sound and crowd control.

30 years ago, the former would have been in the opera house, and the latter in the experimental East Village theater. But comparing these two productions of Woyzeck showed me just how much the public role of experimental theater has changed. Once a haven for daring, wild, and unbridled theater, the East Village and off-off-Broadway have gotten more predictable, safe, and maybe even stale. Meanwhile, mainstream, upper-middle-class, and older audiences are more willing to pay good money to see wild, over-the-top productions by foreign directors. The question that remains is whether this social arrangement, which may be unprecedented in artistic history, is any better or worse than what we’ve had in the past.

Article Author: Ethan Stanislawski

Ethan Stanislawski is a freelance journalist/critic and new media specialist. He is a regular reviewer and staff writer at Prefix Magazine, and also contributes regularly to Blogcritics Magazine. His interests include theater, film, and pop music …

Visit Ethan Stanislawski's author page — Ethan Stanislawski's Blog