Photo Credit: George Katsekes
Quite a few years before Jack Nicholson took up the iconic role at the center of the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there was a stage adaptation of Ken Kesey’s book that debuted on Broadway. The Sunset Playhouse brings the story to the stage in a production directed by actor/director Michael Pocaro. Maureen Chobanoff plays the domineering Nurse Ratched. Chobanoff has a wit about her onstage that should serve the authority of the role well and add some depth to it. Rached rules over a psychiatric ward. UWM Theatre alum Bryan Madson plays Patrick McMurphy--a man who faked mental illness to avoid doing time in prison. The two find each other at odds in a drama that isn’t produced nearly as much as it should be.
Take it from someone who got randomly punched in the face by an unfamiliar mentally ill gentleman a few years back--we really need to do something about the state of mental health care in this country. Kesey’s indictment of how we treat the mentally ill needs to remain fresh in the popular dialogue or things are going to continue to get worse for everybody.
The Sunset Playhouse’s production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest runs Jan. 22 - Feb 8. For ticket reservations, visit sunsetplayhouse.com.
