Playwright Tom Stoppard is widely known for his existential play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which weaves together English literature and theater to intellectually engage the audience. This fall the Theater Studies Department takes a typical theater approach a step further by examining the relationship between physics and existence in Stoppard’s Hapgood.
Led by Faculty Director Jeff West, those involved with the production of Hapgood have dedicated no less than three hours a day to unraveling the complex script. Some members of the production participate extracurricularly while others use their involvement for class credit. Senior Caroline White, who plays the title role, “enjoys the intellectual experience” of Hapgood and is grateful that the play “keeps her focused on something fun, not just books.”
Set in the context of the Cold War, the play positions Hapgood’s personal struggle within the larger frame of a global conflict. When a briefcase drop goes terribly wrong, the limitations of physical science come into play and force the characters to re-examine their perceptions of reality. Mysteries surrounding the true loyalties of the American, British and Russian spies require the audience’s attention in order to follow the intertwined personal and political relationships among the characters.
The cast has worked intensely with a vocal and dialect coach in order to master four different British dialects and a Russian accent. Worth noting is Martin Zimmerman who brings great life and a wonderful Russian accent to the role of Kerner, a Russian spy who is also the father of Hapgood’s young son.
Hapgood’s balancing act between motherhood and a demanding career adds yet another element to the show. Even the men under her command in the office often refer to her as mother, and Hapgood often fills other typically female duties such as serving tea to all of the men in her office. The increasing presence of females in the workplace is just one of the many topics faced in a play that was originally written in 1988, but with themes that are especially relevant today.
West said the play “interesting for the present. It’s about a moral dilemma—how far do we go in our way versus their way?” In a time when global conflict is yet again polarized along ideological lines, Americans today are asking themselves many of the same questions that the actors pose on stage.
Hapgood: Performances take place in Sheafer Theater (Bryan Center) November 18 to 20 at 8 p.m. and November 21 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 general public/$7 for students and senior citizens.
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