The Brave New World Repertory Theatre stages an exciting reading of On the Waterfront

The artists at the Brave New World Repertory Theatre recently showcased their talents and ingenuity with four staged readings of Budd Schulberg’s “On the Waterfront”. The readings took place aboard The Waterfront Museum barge, a historical vessel that usually makes its home in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The theater company and museum combined forces to take the reading to various spots on local waterways. Two readings were held in Red Hook on the East River, and two were held on the Hudson: one at the Hudson River Park in Manhattan, and one on the Hoboken waterfront behind the New Jersey transit’s rail and ferry terminal. (Click here for more information about The Waterfront Museum and additional production details.)

This production of “On the Waterfront” has demonstrated just how inventive a “staged reading” can be. With its large cast and many action scenes, the play poses several challenges for a producer wanting to put up the play without committing to a full-fledged production with staging, costumes, and sets. Claire Beckman’s direction has demonstrated abundant imagination and has fully exploited the suggestive “playhouse” of the Waterfront Museum barge, creating an authentic atmosphere and dramatic tension that do the play justice. A lot of action has been included in the reading, including some rather technical fight sequences, creating a sort of hybrid between reading and staged production that is very satisfying to experience.

About the play

Working with Stan Silverman, Budd Schulberg adapted his audacious, Oscar-winning screenplay for the stage many years after the release of the film in 1954. Outside of a short-lived Broadway production in 1995, the play has rarely been staged in New York. The dark story of Terry Malloy, a washed-out boxer and dock worker who is under the thumb of local, corrupt union bosses, was set on the Hoboken docks, and based on Malcolm Johnson’s Pulitzer-prize winning, true accounts of corruption within the dock workers’ unions of the New York / New Jersey waterfront. The material is ideal for Brave New World, a Brooklyn-based theater company that tends to focus on rarely produced material and promotes the work of local artists and venues.

About the production

The intense opening scene, with the corrupt union bosses murdering informant Joey Doyle by pushing him off a roof, is creatively staged out of the view of the audience, on the roof of the barge. We hear the lines shouted from outside and above, and then hear the crash of his body as we imagine Doyle hitting the pavement. We then see his body carried into the main space by his dock mates. Similarly, characters emerge from hidden spaces to the left and right of the area that functions as the “stage”, as well as from trapdoors underneath it. The action and use of various “off-stage” areas allows the audience to feel the tension of the action, to imagine the spaces evoked by the words, and to have a full, sensory experience of the play. As well, it allows the audience to stay focused on the action, because the large cast is not forced to stay in view of the audience when they are not performing, as happens with most readings.

Each of the 20 actors is appropriately chosen and contributes positively to the mood of the play. Scott Voloshin takes on the role of Terry Malloy with an approach that is authentic and distinctly his own, as he tackles the mythic role immortalized by Marlon Brando in the film version. Equally effective are John Edmond Morgan as the courageous Father Pete Barry, who risks his career and his life by taking on the cause of stamping out corruption; Bruce Kronenberg as Terry’s ruthless, racketeering brother, Charley; Stuart Zagnit as the corrupt boss, Johnny Friendly; William Brenner as the tough but long-suffering, mourning, Pop Doyle; Tara Bast as the earnest Edie Doyle; and the other, supporting players, who convincingly portray dock workers, thugs, clergy, and law enforcement officials.

Upcoming works

This impressive production launches the summer season for Brave New World. Audiences can look forward to more exciting, site-specific work in the next several months, including:

• Garden readings of Carson McCuller’s “The Member of the Wedding” (Thursday July 23, Wednesday July 29, Thursday August 6, and Wednesday August 12. Festivities begin at 6:30 PM with complimentary wine and cheese; readings begin at 7:00 PM).
• A much-anticipated production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” on the beach and boardwalk at Coney Island (Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, at 3:00 PM).

(Photos of Hoboken and of the "On the Waterfront" cast, above, by Annalee Van Kleeck.)

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To stay informed about upcoming productions, sign up for Brave New World’s mailing list by emailing them at theatre@bravenewworldrep.org.

To learn more about Brave New World, visit the company’s website at http://www.bravenewworldrep.org/.

To see additional stills of the May 29 performance of “On the Waterfront” by Annalee Van Kleeck, go to http://www.lyricphoto.com/gallery/8383465_XNY2Q#550139431_KG6wL.

To read more about The Waterfront Museum barge, go to http://www.waterfrontmuseum.org/.