To Believe or Not to Believe

That is the question in Wittenberg, getting one hell of a show at Amphibian Stage Productions.
by Mark Lowry
Theatre Jones
published Friday, July 15, 2011 

On paper, the premise for the comedy Wittenberg, now having its area premiere courtesy of Amphibian Stage Productions, sounds like it might have come from the pen of a playwright whose time between hardcore studying of Thomas Aquinas was spent with late-night marathons of South Park.

The plot: In 1517, a Wittenberg University student named Hamlet (Robert James Walsh), whose major is of course undecided, is torn between good and evil, or rather between allegiances to his philosophy and theology instructors, Dr. Faustus (Brandon J. Murphy) and Martin Luther (Jay Duffer), respectively. They have deep discussions in the classrooms or at the college hang, a bar called...wait for it...The Bunghole. That's also where Faustus, who is really the central figure of this story, performs folk/rock-styled songs with his lute.

Dude, it would take more than the digits of both hands and both feet of a polydactyl to count the number of plays that imagine historical and/or fictional characters meeting. Almost the same number of them can be written off as an interesting idea not fully realized—or as outright bad. A few of them, such as Tom Stoppard'sTravesties or Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile, turn out better.

So what happened with David Davalos, the author of Wittenberg, who had one of these concepts in mind? Whatever it was, he deserves a salute. Between the play's hysterical one-liners and the clever visual and literary/historical references, Wittenberg works because it's not just a one-off joke, it's a wondrously realized idea that offers honest-to-goodness food for thought, and ends up being wholly entertaining to boot.

It definitely does in Amphibian's stellar production, directed with verve and wit by David A. Miller.

This Hamlet exists before Shakespeare wrote his most famous play, and in Davalos' imagining, tidbits of the Danish prince we'll come to know through the Bard's words crop up, such as an encounter with a skull and his most famous line, "to be or not to be." (Faustus' classroom is 2B.) In the second act, he engages in a game of tennis, measuring his conflicting thoughts as he lobs the ball back at his unseen opponent.

Martin Luther, the only historical character here, is pious and still holds true to his biblical beliefs, even if it means doubting new astronomy theories by Copernicus (whose book about the earth revolving around the sun wouldn't have been published yet).

Faustus, a character of legend and who would have a play written about him after this story is set (Doctor Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe), is, fittingly, the instigator of the play's philosophical tennis match. And while he's certain that his beliefs (or non-beliefs) are the way to go, he has his moments of doubt. When he's not banging Helen of Troy or getting his constipated colleagues addicted to coffee, that is.

"A theology degree serves you every time you talk to God, a philosophy degree serves you every time you talk to yourself," Faustus says before rationalizing that those two actions are the same thing.

What Davalos manages in his well-wrought debate is to make sure that both sides see into the other for enough time to justify standing their original ground.

And what Miller manages from his cast is equally amazing. Jule Nelson-Duac winningly plays a host of women characters, from whore to virgin and beyond in a role brilliantly called The Eternal Feminine. Walsh imbues his Dane in pain with a thirst for questioning, a little wimpy but never too much. And Duffer gives his man of God conviction, with a sense of whimsy. Surely the guy who's about to begin the Protestant Reformation can't be all business, even in the year of his 95 Theses.

But the show belongs to the actor who plays Faustus, and Murphy doesn't disappoint. It's not all about a goading evil-doer with a love of indulgence. He's the hip professor who you know probably doesn't abide by the employee handbook, doesn't stick to the syllabus, and encourages his students to ask their own questions and reason them out before he injects his two cents. Murphy has a wry way with a punchline and an effective coffee haus singing voice, not to mention some damn fine skills with a lute.

It all looks great on Sean Urbantke's scenic design (the configuration in the Sanders Theatre is tennis court format, of course), and in costumes by Austin Rose and Chantel Jepson.

It's all enough to make you repeat a line that Hamlet exclaims in Wittenberg, a hilarious reference to Shakespeare's future plot: "I love the theater."

The play's the thing, indeed.

http://www.theaterjones.com/reviews/20110712155333/2011-07-15/Amphibian-Stage-Productions/Wittenberg
 

Battleground Wittenberg

Dr. Faustus and Martin Luther fight for Hamlet’s soul in Amphibian Stage Production’s current show.

WEDNESDAY, 20 JULY 2011
JIMMY FOWLER
Fort Worth Weekly

For a show that explores sober themes like the conflict between faith and reason, Amphibian Stage Productions’ Wittenberg has a surprising amount of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. Playwright David Davalos’ highly literate and irreverent script also contains a mystical vision featuring a pissed-off Catholic saint, a medieval tennis game starring a trash-talking version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and a giant of Western theology forming his foundational precepts while struggling with a bout of constipation on the toilet.

I could reveal more, but suffice to say director David A. Miller and his marvelous quartet of actors achieve a remarkably sophisticated mix of the sacred and the profane, the brainy and the bratty, in this prickly but ultimately sweet-natured production that’s making its Southwest premiere. The obvious choice would’ve been to lean too hard on the cute anachronisms, the bawdiness, and the potty humor. Instead, those tricks turn out to be astute devices that underscore the humanity of this 16th-century mashup in which Faustus, Marlowe’s fictional paragon of nihilism and hedonism, goes head to head with Martin Luther, the real-life Protestant reformer, for the mind and soul of the Bard’s dithering Danish prince.

The simple but stately set design by Sean Urbantke suggests the confrontational nature of Wittenberg: On opposite sides of the stage sit the book-crammed offices of debauched rationalist Faustus (Brandon J. Murphy, radiating self-absorbed charisma) and priggish worshipper Luther (an appropriately pinched and irritable Jay Duffer), colleagues at the famed German university of the play’s title. On the space between their offices is a floor design of illustrated stones that marks the barren middle ground where they and their protégé, Hamlet (Robert James Walsh, palpably yearning), meet to spar, sometimes fruitlessly but always with conviction. That’s another thing Amphibian gets right with this show: highlighting how powerful, potentially influential ideas are worth articulating and furiously defending even if they aren’t immediately influencing anyone.

But Faustus and Luther are at least as interested in insulting each other as in convincing each other during their casual but fiery debates. Their personalities reflect their philosophies of life: Faustus swills booze with abandon, sings anti-authority tunes at the local college hangout known as The Bunghole, and dispenses Moroccan hash candy to students. He also flirts with a bar wench and cavorts memorably with Helen, the fickle object of his desire (both played by an appealingly lusty Jule Nelson-Duac). From Faustus’ viewpoint, personal conscience is supreme, and life is decided by choice, not heavenly design. Celibate Luther also imbibes, citing Jesus’ first miracle, changing water into wine, but he frets endlessly about the corruption in the Catholic Church bureaucracy even as he stands stubbornly by basic Catholic dogma –– the Church can be healed without being entirely dismissed, he insists. Meanwhile, Hamlet has just returned from a summer internship with Dr. Copernicus, the wiseacre who declared that the Earth was not at the center of the universe, so the young man is having fits of existential despair marked by strange celestial voices. (The hash candy doesn’t help.)

Though the ambitions of Davalos’ play are admirable, it’s easy to spot the pitfalls in Wittenberg –– this show would go to hell faster than greedy Faustus if lesser artists decided to do little more than engage the smartass sensibilities of audiences. A typical bid for laughs includes turning the phrase “You da man!” into “Thou art the man!” It sounds cringe-inducing on paper, but Walsh as Hamlet tossed it off unselfconsciously and with real charm. That’s how the whole cast delivers the abundance of cheeky in-jokes, puns, and anachronisms in this production. Thankfully, Amphibian director David A. Miller takes seriously both the scholarly debates and the farcical hijinks, and the expert sense of balance and nuance displayed by his cast makes both endeavors thrilling.

I don’t normally give homework assignments to prospective ticketbuyers, but here’s a fair warning: You need to have a basic understanding of both Hamlet and Doctor Faustus (not a problem for many theatergoers, I’d guess) but also the “justification by faith” reformation theology of Luther to really appreciate what’s going in Wittenberg. I’m not talking about any major cram session, just a quick perusal of a good web resource. Such a small investment of your pre-show time will be handsomely rewarded by Amphibian’s merry band of book-smart mischief-makers.

Wittenberg

Thru July 24 at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St, FW. $15-25. 817-923-3012.

http://www.fwweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4907:battleground-wittenberg&catid=27:stage&Itemid=380

'Wittenberg' schools audiences with superb cast

BY PUNCH SHAW
Special to the Star-Telegram
Posted Saturday, Jul. 09, 2011

Think of it as an honors section of a theology or philosophy class but with bawdy jokes.

Wittenberg, the thoughtful and witty comedy that opened at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center on Thursday, wonders what Shakespeare's Hamlet might have been like as an undergrad dealing with a couple of polar opposites -- the extremely holy religious reformer Martin Luther and the extremely secular Dr. Faustus, the physician-philosopher who sells his soul to the devil in Marlowe's play -- as his dueling professors.

There is a great deal of lofty debating in this Amphibian Stage Productions presentation. Author David Davalos uses the metaphor of a tennis match to convey the back-and-forth between Luther (Jay Duffer) and Faustus (Brandon J. Murphy). And, in most of their serves and volleys about God and the meaning of life, the highly conflicted and hopelessly indecisive Hamlet (Robert James Walsh) is the ball.

On one side of the net, he sees Luther's Bible-thumping piety that somehow also leaves room for a radical streak. On the other is the worldly Faustus, who questions everything Luther says in between enjoying fast women and recreational drugs.

It's all enough to make the troubled young Dane ponder whether he wants to exist or ... well, you know how that goes.

This script could be a tough sell.

The tone is comedic, but the concepts being bandied about are heavy. But this production flies on the wings of its performances and looks. Murphy stands out as the ever-questioning Faustus. He's smug, glib and unfailingly funny as he confuses Hamlet and exasperates Luther.

Murphy not only handles his acting chores with oily aplomb but also shines in the scenes that find him behind the mic at Wittenberg University's rathskeller, strumming his lute (actually a small guitar) and singing songs that sound suspiciously like hit tunes of our times.

Duffer makes Luther a worthy adversary for Faustus and does a fine job of conveying the theologian's internal conflicts. Walsh is appropriately wide-eyed and eager as the Danish prince. Jule Nelson-Duac plays all the female roles, including the hooker who shows Faustus that he does not know everything.

All are strong individually and when working off one another, make it clear that director David A. Miller didn't sleep through any rehearsals either.

These outstanding artistic efforts are beautifully complemented by the technical trappings of the show.

Sean Urbantke's set is both gorgeous and serviceable. The costume designs by Austin Rose and Chantel Jepson are right on the money. And an exceptional lighting plan by Aaron Lentzenlarges the playing area in an almost magical way.

 http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/07/08/3209848/wittenberg-schools-audiences-with.html#tvg#ixzz1RdEEYsvp
 

 THEATER REVIEW
 Reviewed by Bonnie K. Daman, Associate Theater Critic
 John Garcia's THE COLUMN 
 Reviewed Performance on July 7th at 8:00 pm
  
 To believe or not to believe?  Wittenberg asked, "What if?"  What if at a
 specific point in time two giants of history were thrown into the same room
 together?  One represented reason and science, the other embodied faith and
 religion.  Whose argument would win?  Would they act as congenial scholarly men?
 Then in the center of the argument, what if one impressionable young man whose
 decisions would influence a kingdom was placed between them?  Would philosophy
 influence religion or would faith succeed in converting the unbelieving?
 
 Playwright David Davalos opened Pandora's Box when he decided to ask those two
 simple words and thus created his original play Wittenberg.  Inspired by what he
 called the "imaginary meetings between historical figures", Davalos thread the
 fictional and nonfictional stories of three influential men - Reverend Doctor
 Martin Luther, Doctor John Faustus and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark - with one
 common entity: Wittenberg University.
 
 Luther first put the college on the map in the 1500's.  The German monk was
 famous for translating the Bible into German and was known for his 95 Theses
 that influenced the start of the Protestant Reformation.
 
 Doctor John Faustus, based off of Christopher Marlowe's story of the same name,
 counteracted Luther's religious representation and supported a philosophical and
 scientific point of view.  As a staff member at Wittenberg, Faustus' lust for
 ultimate knowledge led him to make a pact with the devil to satisfy that desire.
 Torn between the two scholars was Hamlet, Prince of Denmark of Shakespearean
 lore.  Shakespeare referred to Hamlet having studied at Wittenberg for a time
 and that is where Davalos' weaving of tales began to take form.
 
 I could have gone on for quite some time about the Wittenberg script.  It was
 witty and ingeniously interlaced with references to the background stories of
 each of its three lead characters.  It may have been beneficial to have some
 general knowledge of their histories in order to join in on the hilarity.  I
 admit that some parts felt like an inside joke because I had never read Doctor
 Faustus or I had forgotten the history on Martin Luther.  Whether well read or
 not there was something for everyone and I laughed a lot more than I had
 imagined.  Not only was it comical but Davalos' script was packed with several
 powerful monologues that were the heart and soul of the play.
 
 Amphibian Stage Productions opened their production this past Thursday to a
 packed house.  Among the distinguished guests was playwright David Davalos
 himself, having flown in for the event, so the excitement was high and
 expectations immense.  A two-sided stage, audience members sat on either side of
 the set consisting of two opposing platforms built to represent the offices of
 Luther and Faustus. The contrasts between sides was immediately obvious; two
 separate worlds that could stand alone but were still respective of each other
 as being part of Wittenberg University.  Faustus' office was the more eccentric
 of the two with endless gadgets and tonics scattered about; from the mini abacus
 to the exploratory maps and globes.  While the majority of the performance was
 staged on this portion of the set the opposite end clearly represented Luther's
 more simplistic lifestyle - nothing more than books, a cross hung from the
 ceiling, and a small desk.
 
 Aaron Lentz's lighting design was strategically implemented into the set.  I
 especially liked the lanterns used for the overhead lighting in the theatre
 which gave an old world feel to the room.
 
 The sound design created by David Lanza completed the package and sold me on the
 illusion that I was glimpsing a part of Wittenberg.  His use of background noise
 to enhance the opening or closing of a scene was gradual and not overbearing to
 the actors as they delivered their lines.  Lanza's timing was impeccable with
 the use of prerecorded material and not once was the flow of the show disrupted
 due to the added technical aspects.
 
 Luckily for the costuming department the two main characters of Luther and
 Faustus didn't require much change throughout the show.  Rather, a simple vest
 or cloak added or taken off was as versatile as the costuming needed to be for
 these two characters.  On the other hand Hamlet's costume was a distraction for
 me.  I didn't know much about the clothing for that era but I couldn't help but
 see Hamlet as Robin the Boy Wonder.  Perhaps it was a combination of the actor's
 boyish facial expressions and the flesh colored tights and boots.
 
 The caliber of talent recruited for this production was such that a director
 would probably give his or her right hand to work with them.  This small group
 of actors was so tightly knit and in tune with each other's performances you
 would have thought this was closing weekend instead of opening night.  Director
 David A. Miller's interpretation of the script seeped into each actor's
 individual interpretation of their characters.  It was like watching a relay
 race - each speech or scene fed into the next as they all worked together to
 create this masterpiece of a play in front of me.
 
 I was most impressed by how unprejudiced the show turned out to be.  The lack of
 a spiritual or philosophical agenda was a rare find.  Davalos' script only posed
 the questions about reason versus faith, not trying to force the answers.  So my
 and my guest's take away was the impression that, religious or not, they were
 all searching and seeking and learning.  Miller was able to present the play in
 the same way as a presentation of both arguments without trying to sway the
 audience.  On a deeper level, the actors themselves played their roles with
 conviction and gave some of the most honest performances I have seen this year.
 
 Brandon J. Murphy opened the show with gusto and confidence as the philosophical
 and ornery Doctor John Faustus.  His quick-paced and loaded dialogue was as
 natural as breathing and it was amusing to watch his character delight in his
 own sinful nature, and parade it in front of Luther.  Although neither of the
 characters were the true antagonists of the show Murphy was a success in
 provoking his counterpart and expressing the humor of most situations.
 
 As Act II came to a close it was then that I finally saw the underlying
 motivation of this character which was simply to belong.  Murphy was an open
 book for this final scene as he portrayed a defeated man who had played the
 devil's advocate (no pun intended) for too long and finally realized he may
 always have to do so alone.
 
 Opposite Murphy was Jay Duffer in the role of Martin Luther.  Instead of
 portraying the German monk as pious and unwavering, Duffer was genuine and
 humble and unafraid to show Luther's weaknesses.  He exposed Luther's humanity
 with all these frustrations and lusts of the flesh.  Duffer was also impeccable
 in his delivery.  He was straight-laced with a quirky but dry sense of humor and
 received the biggest laugh from me with the use of one expletive in the second
 act.  Because Luther was the least fictional of the characters it was
 interesting to see the play take some liberties with a few historical facts –
 another "What If?" scenario – and Duffer executed those liberties with ease.
 
 Robert James Walsh as Hamlet seemed to take the first couple of scenes to warm
 up to his character but he hit his stride and became a nice buffer between the
 two scholars.  Walsh acted the part of the impressionable young student who was
 sucked into a tug-of-war between reason and faith.  What distinguished his
 character was how Davalos wrote nearly all of Hamlet's dialogue in Shakespearean
 prose.  The contrast was odd at first but Walsh sold the performance which only
 enhanced the believability of the meeting of these characters.  Walsh also
 played the best one-sided game of tennis that I've ever seen, and of all the
 "inside jokes" laced throughout the show, Hamlet's was by far the most
 recognizable.
 
 Rounding out the cast was Jule Nelson-Duac as The Eternal Feminine.  Davalos
 gave no explanation for the title of her role but after three or four character
 and costume changes it was evident.  Nelson-Duac played several instrumental
 roles which either instigated or assisted in bringing about a change for the
 male characters.  Her relationship with Faustus was the more prevalent and she
 gave a short but commanding performance opposite Murphy.
 
 Wittenberg runs through July 24th at The Hardy and Betty Sanders Theater in Fort
 Worth.
 

http://www.dfw.com/2011/07/06/477353/wittenberg-director-says-meeting.html