Review: The Big Knife
Alliance Repertory Company, 3204 West Magnolia Bl., Burbank, 213-660-TKTS
by Jeff Nelson
A much more satisfactory evening can be had by attending the Alliance Theatre’s gorgeous production of Clifford Odets’ The Big Knife. We can’t say enough good things about this production—it is absolutely superb. Every detail, from Matthew Jacobs’ stunning set, to Rachel Leathers’ beautifully designed period costumes, to the spectacular ensemble acting, has been attended to with care and attention. The result is an enthralling trip back in time to a Hollywood more glamorous than the paved over, sun-dried sprawl of copy centers and nail salons that it is today. This theatrical cocktail is an enticing concoction of gangsters and starlets, movie moguls and movie stars, sex and death and beauty and danger. We were completely intoxicated.
The Big Knife is the story of Charlie Castle (played by the remarkably talented Sherman Howard), an important movie star who is faced with increasingly difficult demands from both his boss at the studio and his long-suffering wife. Charlie is a pawn of the powerful studio, and gradually he comes to realize that the price of his riches and fame is to sacrifice his relationship with his wife, the only person who really loves him. Indeed, his final payment is the immolation of his very soul. In this regard, Howard’s performance is a portrait of a man torn between what he knows is right and what he knows he must do to survive—and he brings a truth and power to the role that resonate long after the final curtain.
Howard’s achievement is matched by the rest of this fabulous cast. This is ensemble acting at its best, and even the smallest parts, such as the valet (Warren Harrington), are played to perfection. Scott Campbell brings just the right amount of wit and brutality to the role of Marcus Hoff, the studio boss, in a riveting performance. Sheila Franklin is captivating and sophisticated as Marion Castle, and achieves an intimacy with Howard that is stark and lovely. Casey Ivey, as the hopeful starlet Dixie Evans, is as cool and refreshing as a mint julep on a summer’s day. Everyone else in the cast is totally satisfying, each demonstrating a cool mastery of their film noir parts that a less talented group would smother under exaggeration and camp.
In the end, it is Odets’ gem of a play, with its breathtaking character studies and its politically left message about the corrupting effects of Hollywood, that is the core of this excellent production. The Alliance Theatre apparently knows the difference between fluff and substance, and perhaps this is the best reason of all to see this production. ♦