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The Elephant Man
The Elephant Man
by Bernard Pomerance
September 15 - October 15“A giant of a play!” New York Post
“Utterly fascinating.” New York Daily News“I think my head is so big because it is so full of dreams.” John Merrick
Stage 3 is proud to present this splendid, timeless, moving and utterly captivating work that won the Tony, Obie, Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics Circle awards for Best Play. It is imbued with a powerful humanity, humor and grace.
“The Elephant Man” is the true story of a man who whose body was hideously deformed but within was a remarkably funny, sensitive and intelligent being. John Merrick began his life as a side show freak and ended it as one of the most celebrated men in England. This is the story of that remarkable journey.
Directed by Stage 3 Artistic Director, Don Bilotti.
Sept./Oct. Show Times THURS
7pmFRI
8pmSAT
8pmSUN
2pm15 16 22 23 28 29 30 1 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 Make your reservations now – tickets are selling fast!
Snippets from unanimous critical raves.
You won’t soon forget ‘Elephant’— Modesto Bee
Four Stars - Excellent…the most powerful dramatic production unveiled in the region this year.
…Modesto actor David Braga wears no prosthetics or special makeup… proving himself one of the region's most valuable performers.…As the doctor, Graham Scott Green etches a convincing portrait of a man who tries to do the right thing but is undermined by his arrogance.
…Director Don Bilotti skillfully combines old-Hollywood and avant-garde elements throughout the production.
…This is a show that theater fans long will remember after it closes. Bilotti has accomplished the elusive goal all serious theaters strive for: His production enlightens and entertains.
Actors shine in ‘Elephant Man’ — Union Democrat
“The Elephant Man,” now playing at Stage 3 Theatre, is everything I’ve come to expect from a drama at this intimate playhouse: Smart, ambitious, well-acted.
…Certainly, the most amazing thing about “The Elephant Man” is the actor who portrays him. David Braga embodies John Merrick without prosthetics or extreme makeup. He contorts his face and body and, in the process, loses access to key elements in an actor’s bag of tricks –vocal and physical expressiveness. And Braga, especially, is an actor with physical presence. ..What happens when you take all that energy and lock it in a body that can hardly make its way across the stage?Magic.
Braga is stunning, the way he captures Merrick’s wit and wisdom without so much as raising an eyebrow. He speaks clearly, even in his contorted state, which is excellent because Merrick has some of the funniest and truest lines in this clever script.
Another stand out is Graham Scott Green as Dr. Treves… In a lesser actor’s hands, Treves could easily become a caricature, but Green gives him flesh and bone and motivation. So when the doctor morphs from clinical confidence to deep disillusionment, you believe it. Green is artistic director of Murphys Creek Theatre and it’s not often you see him in plays on the Sonora side of the river. When you do, it’s a treat. Watching him in action is like attending an actor’s workshop.
Maryann Curmi is a lovely Mrs. Kendall, the actress who brings dignity and femininity to Merrick’s life… as she comes to know and love Merrick, it is society’s mask she must hide behind and keep her feelings at bay. Curmi captures all that in her mannered yet passionate performance.
There are many actors to applaud in this play. Some of them play various roles designed as point and counter-point. Doug Scott, for example, plays Merrick’s wicked sideshow manager as well as the Bishop bent on saving his soul. Other fine actors with multiple roles are Nathan Yeisley, Charles Keen, Bev Woodland, Wendy Miller and Renee A’Dair.
Don Bilotti directed, Matthew Leamy provided lighting and Ron Cotnam designed the set. They created a fascinating production filled with ever-changing moods — not unlike Merrick’s life itself —eerie, horrific, clinical, hopeful, sad, poignant…
“The Elephant Man” is a fascinating play.
Braga astounds as ‘The Elephant Man’ — Calaveras Enterprise
A solitary, bedraggled figure bathed in a single spotlight; an anguished face; a rope around the man’s neck; it’s amazing when an actor and an audience connect as the opening night crowd did with David Braga in “The Elephant Man,” Friday.
Chills run up and down the spine when people unite under those bright lights; it’s as if we are all onstage with the actor feeling what he or she does and helping to carry the emotional burden. Can a drama about the virtual imprisonment of a pathetically deformed
person be a positive theatrical experience? I say yes, as Sonora’s Stage 3 Theatre Co. delivers an oddly uplifting show…… no clever make-up or plastic goodies are tacked onto Braga’s body as he plays the part. In fact, one brilliant scene features a doctor dryly describing the abnormalities that wracked Merrick’s body and it is there that Braga makes his triumphant transformation for the audience.
…Doug Scott is tyrannical as Merrick’s sideshow barker and “partner,” Ross. Scott whirls about the space coaxing the audience into the tent to view the atrocity as if his very life depends on it…
Graham Scott Green proves a powerful man of science here. His Frederick Treves believes his books before his eyes, and that becomes a problem for the man later in the show... and the relationship that formed between the two is the focus of the play.
…the show is a sometimes boisterous, occasionally tribal concoction brewed up by Stage 3’s Artistic Director, Don Bilotti…inviting the audience into (Bilotti’s) own circus of human emotion and social hypocrisy.
Maryann Curmi is brought in as actress Mrs. Kendall… There is a touching scene when Kendall bares her skin to the Elephant Man… Merrick marvels at the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. Curmi, while only onstage for a very short period, leaves an indelible feeling of care and concern in her wake.
…Bill Zachman, Nathan Yeisley, Charles Keen, Bev Woodland, Wendy Miller and Reneé A’Dair contribute myriad people to the mix as the story develops. There’s nary a weak link in the entire cast.
…At the final bow, Braga’s appearance sent the crowd leaping to its feet, and that includes the press at the show.
Between Bilotti’s exciting presentation, complete with fantastic lighting effects by Matthew Leamy (who also created the computer-controlled supertitles and some other images), and Braga’s tour de force performance, this is the best drama to appear on Mother Lode stages so far this year.
Do not miss this intricate drama. I’ve already made my reservations to see it again.
For reservations or information, please call 209-536-1778, or e-mail info@stage3.org.
