Pigs Eye Theatre - The Front Page: "Front Page" tells news of America's past

The Front Page By Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur	Directed by Randall J. Funk
March 19 - April 3, 2004 at Cedar Riverside People's Center

"Front Page" tells news of America's past

by Renee Valois
Special to the Pioneer Press

March 22nd, 2004

THEATER REVIEW

Before the opening night production of "The Front Page" at Pigs Eye Theatre, director Randall J. Funk felt the need to warn the audience that this was the "uncut" version of the play from a time when racial attitudes differed dramatically from ours today.

Sexism was clearly rampant when this classic screwball comedy was written in 1928, too. Its men are so tough they're hard-boiled, and women are either floozies or sweet things who cry at the drop of a hat. Although the opinions of some characters are likely to discomfit many audience members, it's a fascinating, visceral slice of history.

One saving grace is that the very characters of the play who have offensive opinions of "colored" people and women are the ones skewered by the script: the "bums" of the newsroom and the political machine of Chicago. All the action takes place in a city hall room set aside for the various members of the press as they await breaking news on a the hanging of a white man, a suspected communist, who killed a black policeman who surprised him in bed.

The stage is strewn with crumpled papers, which suggest the slovenliness of the news reporters, who drink, play poker and chain smoke on the job. They also seem sorely lacking in compassion: Every tip they receive on a horrible tragedy is unfeelingly weighed for news potential — the worse, the better.

Although the most violent incidents take place offstage (a jail break, a suicide and more) the show is anything but dull. It's a bullet train of overlapping dialogue, shouting, fast-talking and cursing. (Viewers of the tamer film versions may be surprised by the rampant obscenities, which kept "The Front Page" from getting past British censors for many years.)

The constant manic energy of the pressroom gives the audience no chance to catch its breath, except during two short intermissions. Pigs Eye's production of the old play is strong. Most of the 21 actors seem like they walked right out of the Jazz Age onto the small stage.

Matt Anderson is particularly good as the hero, Hildy Johnson, a fast-talking, hard-drinking ace reporter who's fallen in love. He intends to leave reporting on the eve of the hanging to settle down with his fiancée in New York and work as a high-paid ad man. But just when he's saying goodbye to his old pals in the pressroom, something incredible happens and he can't resist the urge to report it to his ex-boss, who's doing everything possible to keep Hildy at the paper. Things get wilder and wilder until Hildy has to choose between remaining a reporter and marrying his beloved.

Alex Cole is terrific as the corrupt mayor and Jay Urmann is great as his doofus sidekick Sheriff Hartman. Kevin Carnahan makes Hildy's blustery, bulldozing boss believable.

There is plenty of humor in the quirky situations and glib dialogue. As a skillful satire that also conveys a sense of our nation's nasty past, "The Front Page" is worth bringing back.

Renee Valois is a freelance writer and critic.

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