Dreamingful Productions
and Graymatter Entertainment’s “Atomic”, book and lyrics by Danny Ginges and
Gregory Bonsignore, directed by Damien Gray was a very fascinating look at some
of the key physicists and inventors of the Manhattan Project. Refreshingly,
“Atomic” was not a political stab against the creation of the atomic bomb but a
very historical look into “the idea that shook the world.”
The
musical began with a man and woman traditionally seated in the Japanese fashion
across from each other conversing. The lack of foreign language translation was
a more dramatic undertone for the upcoming sound of an atomic bomb paired with
flashes of light behind nearby sliding doors. This was a unique opening to J.
Robert Oppenheimer’s (Euan Morton) seated figure protesting the interrogation
of a Congressional Committee for what is presumed as war crimes. Euan Morton
depicted Mr. Oppenheimer as a sarcastic jokester. Morton was met with many
laughs and an entertaining Oppenheimer came to life as the narrator of the
creation of the atomic bomb.
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Oppenheimer
introduced the main scientist in the atom bomb’s creation: Leo Szilard (Jeremy
Kushnier). Szilard, a Hungarian physicist and inventor (conceived the nuclear
chain reaction, nuclear reactor and the electron microscope) was depicted as a
passionate scientist by Kushnier. An all-work and no-play personality came
through in Kushnier’s performance. However, while Kushnier began with a great
and believable Hungarian accent that even carried through to his music—about
halfway through the play he lost it. The accent gave him a foreign flare that
deepened his character’s non-American presence. It is a shame that he could not
maintain it.
Szilard’s
wife, Trude Weiss Szilard (Sara Gettelfinger) was a physicist turned medical
doctor whose only true love was her husband. Gettelfinger’s rendition of a
brilliant wife who simply misses her more passionate about his work husband was
very relatable. Mrs. Szilard plays off of Leo to aid him through is struggles
of deciding to defy Lord Rutherford’s theory that the atom cannot be split, his
fight to return to the Manhattan Project after being fired and his decision to
begin a petition to the President not to drop the atomic bomb. She comfortably
presented Leo with a moral compass that he returned to. Both Gettelfinger and
Kushnier had good chemistry together and it was not a stretch that a marriage
such as theirs would survive husband and wife rarely seeing one another.
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A
colleague of Szilard’s was Edward Teller (“the father of the hydrogen bomb”),
played by Randy Harrison. Harrison brought Teller’s character to life as a
proverbial scientist that doesn’t know what to do with the ladies. His few
funny lines about Leona Woods’ brilliance and the minds of other physicists on
the project possibly giving him a complex was entertaining. As Teller, Harrison
had great chemistry with the cast and his Hungarian accent made for more
laughter and reprise from the heavy subject of the atomic bomb.
An equally well known
physicist, Enrico Fermi was hilariously played by Jonathan Hammond. This
Italian-American physicist (awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 and worked
on Chicago Pile-1 first ever nuclear reactor) was presented as a
scientist/playboy with a possibly unhealthy obsession with bedding each woman
aside from his wife; whom he describes as your oldest set of woolen pajamas
that at night you wonder why you’ve kept all these years. His accent reigned
true throughout his performance and he never lost his distinctly Italian flare
and flamboyant suits. Each time Hammond entered the stage the audience was
ready for a good laugh.
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The
liaison of the Manhattan Project to General Groves was the American physicist
(awarded Nobel Prize in Physics in 1927, discovery of the Compton Effect)
Arthur Compton (David Abeles). Abeles seemed awkward at times and it was almost
as if he was unsure what to do with his arms. This may have been an artistic
flare to show the awkward nature of a physicist but if it was it fell a bit
short. His booming voice created a stage presence for him, however, it would
have been much more dynamic if he gave his character a more confident posture.
Working closely with
Arthur Compton and much to Fermi’s disbelief is the non-secretary but brilliant
physicist (famous for utilizing Geiger counters in testing Chicago Pile-1 and
solving problem of xenon poisoning in Hanford plutonium) Leona Woods (Alexis
Fishman). Leona has a few funny lines and represents the very rare woman in a
man’s profession. Holding her own with the men, Fishman portrays Leona as a
somewhat sarcastic and down-to-earth physicist. Her Midwestern accent also
carried on throughout the performance and she was able to distinctly change her
character’s likeness whenever she played an ensemble member.
Harrison’s depiction of
Paul Tibbets seemed a very accurate rendition of a recruit turned Colonel (retired
as a Brigadier General) who eventually dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima
from the Enola Gay. With a very entertaining song illustrating his “f*ck em’”
attitude, Tibbets’ decision to drop the bomb on “numbers” rather than people
was very believable.
Mae (Grace Stockdale) and
Fritz (James David Larson) seamlessly integrated themselves with the cast as
secretaries and “no-name” scientists. Stockdale and Larson also participated in
the ensemble and maintained strong stage presence throughout the performance.
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Scenic designer Neil
Patel and lighting designer David Finn worked very well together and gave the
cast artistic props and dynamic lighting for their performance. However, Philip
Foxman’s music and lyrics fell short of expectations as each musical number
began to sound like the last. In addition, sound designer Jon Weston did not
take into account the small size of The Acorn Theater. Most of Foxman’s lyrics
were drowned out by his music.
The inventor’s regret and
inner turmoil regarding their decision to back the dropping of the atomic bomb
on innocent lives was also very well done. The only complete mishap of the play
was the actual dropping of the bomb. Strangely, Szilard came on stage and in a
slow motion fight with stop-light strobes to oddly step on and hit the two
beginning Japanese characters for an uncomfortable period of time. The audience
giggled at Kushnier’s frozen and slow-motion faces. There are much more
dramatic approaches to illustrating a bomb that killed hundreds of thousands
within a minute.
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This non-political
performance presented the debate on whether or not to drop the bomb in a very
objective light. The audience was even reminded of America’s “C Plan” to drop
the bomb on an uninhabited city to demonstrate the power of the United States
rather than killing innocent lives. Oppenheimer’s vehement rejection of this
option as the bomb had the possibility of not detonating was very accurate.
Conversely, it was not a stretch to think that Leo Szilard would not only
contract cancer from his work with radiation but would be sickened by the sheer
power of the bomb he helped create.
In closing, if you have a
healthy respect for history and a free two hours and fifteen minutes on a Sunday
take some time to see “Atomic.” You’ll certainly have a few laughs and walk
away knowing just a little bit more about the scientists that changed the world
forever.“Atomic” is playing at
Theater Row’s The Acorn Theater Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7pm, Friday
at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm and Sunday at 3pm and 7pm from Saturday July 12th
to Sunday July 20th.
Review By: Alex Lipari
Photo By: Carol Rosegg
“Tick, Tick…BOOM!” has book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. David Auburn serves as Script Consultant and Joey Chancey is Musical Director. Jonathan Silverstein directs, with choreography by Christine O’Grady.
