Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared

Open Fist Theatre Company & Circle X Theatre Company 

The cool, cavernous play space at the Atwater Village Theatre houses a deceptively  simple set painted in neutral grey and decorated with toy cars, a ship model, baskets,  bottles, candlestick telephones and many clocks along with all manner of bric-a-brac  and memorabilia. It could be a junk shop, it could be grandma’s attic. The extreme  upstage is made even more distant by the cool blue light making it a misty and far off expanse. House lights dim. People begin to enter that space. Coated and hatted and  burdened with luggage they are travelers, gathering on deck, watching the blue horizon  for something…something they have dreamed of seeing. 

Suddenly a figure appears, a crowned woman standing proudly, her arm upraised and  holding high for all to see…a sword. On the shores these immigrants are landing upon,  might makes right. In Franz Kafka’s Amerika the powerful do what they want and the  weak endure what they must. 

In a joint production, Open Fist Theatre Company and Circle X Theatre Company adapt Franz Kafka’s Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared for the stage. It is a handsome  production played on a clever and ever-changing set designed by Frederica Nascimento. Gavan Wyrick‘s lighting redefines the environment from moment to  moment as we follow the fictional Karl Rossmann, ably played by Oqalile Tshetshe, on  his adventures in the absurd land of dream logic that is Amerika. 

A well-mounted production

A superb company of players attired in evocative costumes designed by A. Jeffrey  Schoenberg take the stage with brio in Act I, assailing us with one broadly drawn  character after another at a gallop and without missing a beat. Kudos to stage veteran  Pat Towne who gives us a master class in playing broad characters with conviction.  The story of Karl Rossmann is reminiscent of Dickens’s David Copperfield, who literally  goes from rags to riches. The difference being that Karl never quite makes it out of  rags. 

This is a well-mounted production that makes use of clever transitional animations by John R. Dilworth and bleakly humorous, dare I say Kafkaesque, drops by Elizabeth  Moore. Sound design by Gary Rydstrom is haunting and atmospheric. In short, this  production is mounted by a group of artists of many disciplines who have crafted a  piece of theatre that would make for a stimulating 2 hours in any theatre anywhere. 

Ah. There’s the rub

The audience for the 2pm matinee we attended did not leave the theatre until 5:15pm.  While 3 hours and 15 minutes is not an unheard-of running time for a theatre piece, it is  a stretch for an adaptation of an unfinished novel that is a rambling picaresque with an abrupt and heavily disputed ending — an ending that is, at best, ambiguous. Adaptor  Dietrich Smith is true to the story, which is not a traditional narrative, and includes  many of the most important scenes. However, some of those scenes do little to move  the story forward, and by the time we get to hour 3 much of the audience is eyeing the  exits rather than observing the disappearance of self that Karl Rossmann undergoes as  he joins the enigmatic Theatre of Oklahoma that promises everything and delivers… well that remains to be seen. 

This is a piece of well-made theatre produced by talented artists. If you go to see it,  bring a seat cushion and make full use of the 2 intermissions. 

Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared runs March 28 through May 3. Performances  take place on Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 7 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. (dark  Friday, April 3). There will be one additional performance, on Monday, April 6 at 7:30  p.m. Tickets range from $26 to $45. 

Atwater Village Theatre is located at 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90039.  Parking is free is in the ATX (Atwater Crossing) parking lot one block south of the  theater. 

To purchase tickets and for more information, go to openfist.org or circlextheatre.org.

*Feature Image: Jade Santana, Maria Mastroyannis, Matthew Goodrich and Ensemble
Photo by Thomas Alleman

**Many thanks to Lucy Pollak PR. Website Lucypr.com