When Torn Space Met Bergman
We'll watch what they're having in two more 'Scenes From a Marriage'
“Scenes From a Marriage,” the stage adaptation and distillation of Ingmar Bergman’s landmark 1973 series and film, is exactly as advertised: a series of significant moments, or scenes, from the failed marriage of Johann and Marianne. You might not want to know them, but they make for a powerful night of theater.
In its first main stage production this season, Torn Space Theater took an innovative approach to what already is unique source material. Bergman’s original work debuted as six episodes; it later was condensed to film length. Even then, its unflinching examination of the painful details of a deteriorating marriage – saying the quiet parts out loud -- was later blamed, rightly or not, for an increase in divorce in Europe 50 years ago.
The production at Torn Space, while undeniably impactful, is unlikely to push anyone over the marital edge who isn’t already teetering toward a tumble. Perhaps even the opposite. By dividing the role of Johann among four actors, with Tracie Lane flying magnificently solo as Marianne, Torn Space has heightened the couple’s unique personality issues while diffusing the culpability.
Melissa Meola, codirector with her husband Dan Shanahan, said in a video interview that the multiple casting had a specific goal, as they sought to dramatize Marianne’s reconsideration of her marriage. “As their relationship evolves and as certain aspects of their personal lives are disclosed,” Meola said, “Johan transforms literally into different people before (Marianne’s) eyes and before the audience’s eyes … We hope that this device really brings the story of Marianne and Johann alive.”
Todd Benzin is Johann No. 1, self-absorbed, dismissive, needy. Stan Klimecko is the hyper-emotional Johann No. 2, who gives a preview of his visceral approach to relationships while playing another woman’s drunken spouse in the opening scene. Jack Hunter as Johann No. 3 is more down-to-earth and outwardly caring, although Marianne isn’t always the person he is caring about, and Christine Turturro steps in briefly as a fourth Johann, possibly to even out the odds in a rough-and-tumble predivorce struggle.
Depending on the viewer, the back-and-forth with the Johanns can be either enlightening or distracting; either way, it keeps you thinking.
In another online video interview for Torn Space, Shanahan said that they were drawn to the work, via Emily Mann’s 2017 stage adaptation of the film, because of its specificity.
“There’s something really precise about the way Bergman constructs the scenes that make up the ‘Scenes From a Marriage’ and it really condenses all the complexities and nuances of a relationship in these extreme, refined, hyper-focused moments,” he said.
The main question of the play, he believes, is “Why?” When two people have everything -- successful jobs, no material hardships, and a “solidly middle-class home -- why do they choose to blow it all up?”
The answer could be found in what Shanahan believes is the main theme of the play: “That Hell is not a place but a condition that is created by people and the choices that they make.”
“Scenes From a Marriage” wraps up this weekend, with its final shows at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 and March 1 in the unique theater venue that is part of the Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle, 612 Fillmore Ave. Tickets are $30 at tornspacetheater.com or at the door; drinks are available in the library’s bar, free parking is on the street.
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One month from now, on April 5, Torn Space is hosting “Chamber Code,” a multimedia artistic experience combining poetry, music, rhythm and visuals. The “spontaneous sonic” event is inspired by the work of Samuel Morse, who devised the dot-dash communication method that bears his name.
Nationally recognized poet Thomas Sayers Ellis will perform spoken word accompanied by jazz artists pianist Walter Kemp 3, Italian bassist Silvia Bolognesi and drummer Warren ‘Trae’ Crudup. Buffalo artist Edreys Wajed, known for his music-centered visual art, will interpret the trio’s “code” using graphic projections.
“Chamber Code” is Saturday April 5 at 7:30 p.m. at 612 Fillmore Ave. Tickets are $30 at tornspacetheater.com.