by Jess Hoffman
I have a love of literature and an unshakable interest in the complex and problematic people who create it. Chaucer, Poe, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway are all deeply imperfect (to say the least) and remarkable men with whom I am endlessly fascinated. I am less familiar with the life and writings of Herman Melville; but the idea of seeing a biographical play about Melville in the house in Pittsfield where he resided excited me quite a bit. So it was with high hopes that I went to see Poor Herman (written and directed by Elizabeth Doss and produced by paper chairs and The Berkshire Historical Society) at Arrowhead in Pittsfield, MA. And it is with great disappointment that I must say the play does not live up to its potential.
The cast takes turns playing the titular character. They indicate who is currently portraying Melville with a knitted fake beard that is so unrealistic that when I saw the first character wearing it, I thought she was (for whatever reason) wearing earmuffs around her chin. Perhaps this was by design, but the play as written isn’t nearly funny enough to get away with such farce. In an approximation of a Greek chorus at the beginning of the play, the actors make clear that this play will be a semi-historical semi-fictionalized account of Melville’s life and work. (They go so far as to claim that there is “no such thing as historical accuracy,” which, however true that may be, seems a bit defensive to say outright in a historical play.)
One thing I can say in praise of Poor Herman is that the actors make wonderful use of the challenging space provided by Arrowhead. Despite a small, sparse area to work with and a cumbersome pillar right in the middle of the space, the cast seamlessly moves throughout makeshift theater space and makes the most of the small area.
Poor Herman has an all-female cast, despite its title character being male, so my assumption is that one of the play’s goals is to shed light on the women in Melville’s life and how they shaped his life and work. Indeed, that does seem to be the intention; but because the play still revolves around Melville, the female characters are presented as victims of Melville’s mercurial nature, and not as fully-fleshed characters in their own right. Meanwhile Melville is portrayed as a short-tempered, abusive, and irresponsible patriarch who terrifies his family while utterly failing to provide for them.
To give credit where credit is due, I do not think that Poor Herman‘s many shortcomings were the fault of the actors. This show has a talented cast doing what they can with an imperfect script. Alexis Scott plays Melville’s long suffering wife with affectionate stalwartness that brings some nuance to what is otherwise a fairly one-dimensional play. Marie Ponce proves her versatility as an actress by expertly portraying Melville’s young son, Malcolm as well as the self-assured Nathanial Hawthorne. And Diana Small’s histrionics as Melville’s mother, Augusta, are very funny, although they do nothing to make one sympathize with the character.
The first act of Poor Herman concerns Herman Melville’s attempt to write a critical hit with Moby Dick, and then, after it commercially and critically fails, to come back with a romance titled Pierre. After intermission, the second act begins with a humorously melodramatic depiction of Pierre. Let it be known that I love a well-done “bad” play-within-a-play (such as the iconic “Pyramus and Thisbe” play in the final act of A Midsummer Night’s Dream), so I was quite delighted with the second act at first. But the over-the-top dramatization of Pierre is not just a brief interlude, it is the entire second act of Poor Herman. And as the act continues and the laughter ebbs, it becomes apparent how similar the intentionally ridiculous second act is to the first act. By the time the second act rose to its attempted comedic crescendo with the childishly over-the-top deaths of Pierre and Isabelle, I was so bored with the melodrama that I couldn’t even appreciate some good, old-fashioned pantomimed vomit and diarrhea.
The play ends by moving the audience outside for a final scene which takes place at Herman Melville’s funeral. Melville’s widow and all of his children gather at Melville’s grave and discuss their relationship with their mercurial patriarch. But instead of focusing on Melville as a man and writer, the play shifts its attention to Melville’s legacy with the sudden introduction of a time traveling descendent of Herman Melville, who engages with the actors from the audience and praises the legacy of Herman Melville. With this ending, Poor Herman robs the characters of any meaningful conclusion to their fraught relationship with Melville while simultaneously praising Melville’s life and legacy in ways that the rest of the play did absolutely nothing to justify.
And so, much like Herman Melville as portrayed in Poor Herman, this play is a deeply flawed piece that, despite occasional high points and no shortage of talent, fails to provide any real sustenance and ultimately just isn’t worth sticking around for.
paper chairs and The Berkshire County Historical Society presents Poor Herman, written and directed by Elizabeth Doss, runs from July 26-August 3, 2024, at the Arrowhead, 780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield, MA. Cast: Alexis Scott as Lizzie / Herman / Lucy, Diana Small as Herman / Maria / Lady Glendenning / Fannie, Zoё Laiz as Herman / Stanwix / Pierre, Marie Ponce as Malcolm / Nathaniel Hawthorne / Glen Glendenning, and Katie Bender as Augusta / Herman / Isabelle / Bessie. Scenic design by Marc Christopher. Live sound design by J. E. Hernández. Set and lighting design by Jeremy Winchester. Technical design by Jeremy Winchester. Costumes and properties by Leilah Stewart. Master Electrician & Carpenter: Lydia Jung. Running Board Operator & Running Crew: Ayla Keeney.
Performances are Fridays, Saturdays, Sunday, and Wednesday at 7:30pm. Tickets are $25 for BCHS members, $30 for non-members, $10 for EBT card holders, and free for children 12 and under. Runs approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes with one intermission. Contains depictions of verbal abuse, suicide, and consentual incest. Tickets are available online at https://berkshirehistory.org/poor-herman-july-26-august-3/. Call 413-442-1793 for more information.