Review - Abbie & The Misanthrope
http://broadwayworld.com/article/Review_Abbie_The_Misanthrope_20110127
January 27, 2011
Actors who bear a substantial resemblance to a legendary celebrity or
historical figure are often inspired to turn that stroke of luck into
a one-person show. If Bern Cohen ever had any doubts about his
resemblance to political activist Abbie Hoffman, they were certainly
dissolved one evening in the 1970s when Ohio police arrested him and
put him through a brutal interrogation under the assumption that he
was the famous "Clown Prince of the Revolution" who co-founded the
Youth International Party (the Yippies), was a member of the "Chicago
Eight" who were charged with conspiracy and inciting to riot after
disruptive demonstrations outside the 1968 Democratic National
Convention and wrote a New York Times bestseller, even though it was
titled Steal This Book.
Unfortunately, the fascinating story of Cohen's arrest isn't part of
Abbie, the one-man play it helped inspire; not unless you ask him
about it during the Q&A that follows each performance of his current
run at the West End Theater. Directed by Thomas Caruso, Abbie, is
set in 1987 (two years before his suicide) as the subject's
appearance is part of a sociology lecture series. The text is based
on Hoffman's own words with Cohen providing enough connective tissue
to shape it into a play.
Looking back on his life, Cohen's portrayal of Hoffman is warm and
self-effacing, resembling a character out of Shalom Aleichem more
than an anti-establishment social activist when he makes observations
like, "Me and the birth control pill were the most celebrated things
ever to come out of Worcester. At one time, most folks up there
wished the pill would come first."
Though photo slides accompany his talk, this middle-aged man's look
back at his youth never gives us a clear view of what he was like at
the peak of his career. Perhaps a larger-budgeted production with
film clips, or even another actor playing a younger Hoffman, might
increase the play's effectiveness, but what is offered now, though
certainly informative and interesting, lacks details. Little is made
of the famous antics that took place during the Chicago Eight's trial
or the man's diagnosis with bi-polar disorder.
That's not to say that this premiere production of the piece doesn't
show potential. Cohen conveys a true affection and warmth for
subject. Now we just need to see more of Hoffman's fire.
...
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