Tiger At The Gates – Greasy Joan & Co.

Albert Williams, Chicago Reader May 8, 1998 – “The Trojan War will not take place.” So declares the original title (La Guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu) of Jean Giraudoux’s 1935 tragicomedy. In his variation on Homer’s Iliad, the Trojan prince Hector barters for peace, to no avail: the Greeks want revenge for the abduction of their queen Helen, and the Trojans want to prove the manhood of their nation in battle. Giraudoux–a career diplomat and World War I veteran–finds both sorrow and absurd humor in the situation, which he conveys in artfully structured speeches and elegant epigrams that combine modern irony with the formality of classic French drama.

It takes actors of exceptional skill and depth–like Michael Redgrave, the original star of this 1955 English adaptation by Christopher Fry–to balance the technical and emotional demands of the material. Greasy Joan & Company’s actors are vocally and physically proficient, but director William Brown’s production generally feels a bit academic and stilted despite beautifully colored quasi-classical costumes by Christine Birt. (And considering the enormous evil of the “tiger” growling at the gates of Giraudoux’s France, the play’s antimilitary arguments sound like naive appeasement.) The refined language of Tiger at the Gates is lovely to listen to, but the play comes alive here only at the climax–thanks in large part to the gravity and complexity of Gavin Witt’s powerfully understated performance as the Greek general Ulysses.?

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, April 30, 1998 – “?The actors who make up Greasy Joan & Company have not had an easy time. Founded a couple of years ago by graduates from the American Repertory Theatre Institute at Harvard University, this plucky troupe has moved from space to space, struggling to find an audience for its brand of accomplished but usually obscure classical theater.

So it was heartening to see a full opening-night house for William Brown’s worthwhile production of “Tiger at the Gates,” Christopher Fry’s 1955 adaptation of Jean Giraudoux’s 1935 play, “La Guerre de Troie N’Aura Pas Lieu (The Trojan War Will Not Happen).” The French novelist and dramatist crafted an antiwar parable based on the events — specifically the abduction of Helen from Greece — that immediately preceded the Trojan War. Written with Hitler and Mussolini on the rise, Giraudoux was noting that terrible conflict could have been averted, were it not for one man’s lie and a simple misunderstanding. Briefly popular in London and New York 40 years ago, this play is now rarely seen.

But it’s a show that mingles sex and politics, dangerous ideas and an amoral femme fatale . And in demonstrating that working people often die from the leisure classes’ ideological conceits, the play proved prophetic of many wars that were to follow.

Brown’s production is both intelligent and arresting, showcasing a pair of strong dramatic performances from Karm Kerwell and Gavin Witt as Hector and Ulysses, two guys who almost stop a war. There’s also able support from Loretta Rezos as Helen, and clever comic turns from James Asch as Ajax, a nasty militarist, and Christopher Tiffany as a war-mongering poet.

One wishes that Brown (an able director) had gone further conceptually. The fussy classical costumes are not necessary, the Hollywood music distracts, and some of the minor players are stilted and overblown. The production is at its best when it focuses on the modern applicability of classical issues of war and diplomacy — subjects always worth thoughtful contemplation.?