Not-So-Freaky Freak Show

There's an arresting performance by the gifted Antonio Amadeo as Merrick, combining a moving emotional honesty with frequent touches of humor and a physical dexterity that makes Merrick's grotesquery wholly plausible. The ever-reliable Christian Rockwell is a credible Dr. Treves, but the production tends to sideline him, making him more a foil for Merrick than the dramatic engine of the play. The ensemble cast delivers uneven support. Kevin Reilly is splendid as a Dickensian huckster and a soulful clergyman, while Patti Gardner is seriously adrift as a famous actress who befriends Merrick. Ian T. Almeida's expansive hospital set is impressive but misguided, pulling the entire enterprise toward a grim realism that plods on and off stage through a single stage-left entrance.

The result here is predictable and careful, the kind of risk aversion that aims for competency and minimizes mistakes. This strategy, which is practiced in the majority of area theaters, makes sense from an operational standpoint. As a result, there's a sameness to local productions, with the same pool of competent but risk-averse actors, directors, and designers; the same aesthetic assumptions and prejudices; and the same profound lack of vision and courage. Add to these obstacles the vacuousness of civic leaders, a general lack of support for the arts, and the spirit-crushing conventionalism of critics and it's a foregone conclusion that vision and passion are almost homeless in the South Florida theater community. The cost of the play-it-safe strategy is slow aesthetic suffocation for our theater professionals and a continued famine for potential audiences hungry for truly challenging cultural experiences. In a dynamic, future-oriented community such as ours, this is a wasted opportunity.