Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow
“The cruel repetition of history reminds us how tenuous and fragile human freedom is … Revolutions are only successful when the masses have the education to be alert and can be ready to speak out.” So writes May Adrales in her director’s notes for the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production of Animal Farm. Ian Wooldridge’s stage adaptation of George Orwell’s 1945 political satire is brilliant for its elegantly faithful transmission of source material; the Rep’s production, for executing the story in a way that shows its ongoing relevance.
The core ideas are all intact. Populaces revolt under oppression by a ruling class. In the face of a power vacuum, even new systems based on the noblest populist principals are in grave danger of becoming dictatorships once again. The tactics of dictators remain largely consistent over time: illiteracy and lack of other education are exploited as means to cover the dictators’ own inconsistency and hypocrisy, the common people are made to live in a state of fear through internal and external policing, and, of course, propaganda runs rampant.
The Rep’s production adeptly paints this sadly timeless chain of events. Andrew Boyce’s scenic design features disorienting slanted walls, shattered cement flooring, and the hanging carcasses and blood splatters one might find in a very-below-code slaughter house. Noele Stollmack’s noir-esque lighting makes excellent use of long, distorted shadows. Izumi Inaba’s costumes place the ensemble in unspecified laborer coveralls with evocative accent pieces to suggest each animal character. Sound and original composition by Charles Coes and Nathan A. Roberts succeeds in bringing multiple time periods into balance; for instance, Orwell’s anthem of the revolution takes its melody from the old Methodist hymn “Come, thou Fount of every blessing,” while Napoleon’s pet poet Minimus sings his master’s praises in the saccharine tones of a pop boyband.
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The performance ensemble couldn’t be more varied and fascinating. Their casting and performance style likewise serve the goal of making Orwell’s Soviet allegory universal and accessible. In multiple cases, the double castings are downright astute. Melvin Abston plays both tyrannical boar Napoleon and religious leader raven Moses, bringing straightforward menace and subtle emotional manipulation, respectively, to these two roles that essentially drive toward the same end. Tiffany Rachelle Stewart’s characters of Mollie the flighty, bourgeois carthorse; and Squealer, Napoleon’s propagandist pig are likewise ideologically joined in duplicity and false sweetness.
Under Movement Director Nancy Lemenager, the talented ensemble—completed by Jonathan Gillard Daly, Deborah Staples, Brendan Titley, Stephanie Weeks, Brade Bradshaw and Kelsey Rodriguez—move marvelously, both as a group and in individual characterizations. The performers clearly studied their respective animals extensively, and bring their idiosyncrasies to life with as much charm and humor as intellectual horror.
Not to be missed, the Rep’s Animal Farm is a smart, engaging tale for all times. It runs through Feb. 11 at the Quadracci Powerhouse, 108 E. Wells St. For tickets, call 414-224-9490 or visit milwaukeerep.com.
