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The third time's the charm
John Steinbeck's tragic tale of the plans of two lifelong friends gone awry is coming to the Fox Playhouse in Nevada, Feb. 23-26; and it's the third time the Community Council on the Performing Arts has brought this production to the stage.
Lennie, portrayed by CCPA president Kenny Jones, slow of mind and strong of body -- far stronger than he knows -- and his friend George, are ranch hands who share a dream of one day owning their own ranch. But a tragic accidental death leads to an end to their plans those unfamiliar with the story will have to watch the play to its end to discover.
Charlie Johnson, reprising his role as George, Lennie's longterm friend and caretaker, said of the play's ending, "There is a true bond between George and Lennie that goes beyond friendship; more like a love between close brothers. As much as I'd like to be rid of him, and I tell him and others so, the thought of going it alone is almost too much to bear. Our relationship ends with Lennie happy and smiling, with visions of the future, and George suffering with sadness."
Director Alfred Fenske is ramrodding the tale set on a ranch in the 1930s for the second time; and March Garton is serving as stage manager alongside him for the second time. Fenske's also reprising his role for the third time as Crooks, an outsider due to his ethnicity; a character that touches on social commentary of the need for those outcast for some reason to be included, to have commonplace interactions with the others around them.
Fenske, who's been quite busy with several aspects of the production, including set construction, said that from a production standpoint, the play's been different in appearance each time, largely because it's been performed on three different stages.
The first time the play was presented, in 1977, it was in the Welty's Cow Palace, a repurposed sale barn, at the northwest corner of Hunter and Cedar streets. The facility had no stage curtains, according to long term residents. The lights were turned down and the sets changed in the dark.
The 1994 production took place in the auditorium at Cottey College; a roomy, well-equipped stage. This time, the play will be presented in the Fox Playhouse, where the stage is a bit smaller than Cottey's. "There's not a lot of room," he said. Actors are close together and set changes are more challenging because of the space restrictions.
As for the cast and the other aspects of the play, the first production was marked by many other firsts.
Fenske was a professor of speech and drama at Cottey College at the time, and had directed 28 plays at Cottey and four plays for the CCPA, but his 1977 role as Crooks was his first acting role with the group.
The show was directed by Dr. Richard Klepac, the first he'd directed for the group. He was a seasoned actor and also one of Cottey's faculty members, as well as director of social dramatics at the Nevada State School and Hospital. A program from that show notes, though, that he'd sang a lead in the CCPA's first ever production, "The Fantasticks." Klepac also acted in the role of Slim in the first production.
Theatre wasn't new, though, to then attorney Ortrie Smith, who was the CCPA's first Lennie; nor was the spotlight foreign to then attorney Jerry McBeth, the first "Candy" a supporting character, who had appeared in five CCPA productions prior to the 1979 "Of Mice and Men."
Other characters were taking on their first roles with the CCPA.
One was Jeff Tweten -- 16 years old at the time, who played Whit and will portray that same character for the third time.
Another was Johnson, then 18.
Johnson says his understanding of Steinbeck's characters, particularly George, has grown over the years.
"I've studied the characters of George and Lennie, off and on, over the past 35 years and continue to find Steinbeck's sometimes subtle, sometimes direct insight into their relationship. In my third go-around as George, I'm playing the role a little kinder and gentler; still cynical, but not as harsh and more accepting of the responsibility as caretaker of my partner."
At 18, he admits, he was probably too young to fully appreciate the role. "There was no way I should have been cast to play the role of George at that age; it is too complex. With the 1994 production and especially with this show, I'm able to draw from my experiences of life, and death, and bring that understanding to the character," Johnson said.
Johnson, who lives in Parkville, Mo., now with his wife June, works at the Nevada Career Center and has brought to life many roles with the CCPA over the years, and has taken on a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibities along the way as well.
Several veteran actors will take the stage for this year's production. In addition to Jones, Johnson, Fenske, and Tweten. Steve Reed will play the cocky and slightly villainous Curley. Brandy Beach takes on the role of Curley's wife, whose accidental death is the undoing of the future Lennie and George had planned. Lynn Ewing III is Carlson, for the second time; Joe Zuzul is The Boss, for the second time; and Greg Kepler is Slim, also for the second time. Candy's dog -- an important foreshadowing mechanism in the play -- is played by Pepper.
Fenske warns that the play is rife with strong language and deals with adult themes; so it's not for everyone; but it's a good play.
"Everyone seems to be having a good time with it," he said.
"Of Mice and Men" will be presented at 8 p.m. nightly, Feb. 23-25, and at 2 p.m., Feb. 26.