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Hatfield & McCoy
By Shawn Pfautsch
Directed by Matthew Hawkins
Produced by the House Theatre if Chicago
At the Viaduct Theatre
3111 N. Western Ave
Chicago, IL
Call 773-251-2195, tickets $10 - $22
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM
Sundays at 7 PM
Running time is 2 hours, 40 minutes with intermission
Through November 4, 2006
Bodies fly in violent Hatfield & McCoy allegory
In a departure from their usual lighter, sardonic whimsical work, the House Theatre of Chicago has mounted a dark, violent play that contains a larger body count than a Baghdad news report.
The play opens at a Union Army encampment where a group of soldiers are playing guitars and banjos and singing a rousing folk/country tune. They’re enjoying the harmonies when a stranger appears and the soldiers start shooting one another resulting in 4-5 deaths. The smell of gun power permeates the theatre. This shocking opening sets the stage for the saga of one of the oldest and most violent family feuds in American history.
The McCoy’s are on the Kentucky side of the river while the Hatfield’s are on the West Virginia side. These Bible-thumping clans are already feuding and competing. In Shawn Pfautsch’s version, the McCoy’s have two books—the Bible and the Complete Works of Shakespeare. The family loves to mount cute little Shakespearian passion plays with boys playing girls and girls playing boys. Joey Steakley and Paige Hoffman are delightful here. Kurt Ehrman, in full gray beard appears as the Moses-like patriarch of the McCoys. He is a Bible quoting presence. His boys (Michael Salinas, Geoff Button and Ben Lobpries) are typical aggressive hill people. When young Rose Anna McCoy (Sara Hoyer) falls in love with Johnse Hatfield (Erik Hellman), the feud takes on new life springing into a series of kidnappings, shoots outs and knifings.
The Hatfield’s are led by another Bible thumping old man, Capt. Devil Anse (Nathan Allen) who points out that the Bible doesn’t condemn killing, only murder. His rural clan is more earthy and crude then the McCoy’s. Relatives Jim Vance (Michael E. Smith) and Ellison Hatfield (Cliff Chamberlain) are especially rough and violent. Both clans have lively musical talents.
Fueled by the annual county singing contest at the hoedown, the Hatfield’s deliver a Bluegrass tune with a fiddle, two banjos and acoustical guitar. This toe-tapping tune is pure fun. It is followed by the McCoy’s serious ballad featuring Rose Anna McCoy (Sara Hoyer) and her three brothers doing harmony. The audience cheers for each but the Hatfield’s win the contest with their up-tempo song.
The play turns darkly violent when events lead to several shootouts and a kidnapping. Director/fight choreographer Matthew Hawkins staged the violence with a stunning and breathtaking realism. You’d me hard pressed to see more shooting and bodies flying than in this production. The ease at which folks can kill one another is sure highlighted here.
This is a well acted ensemble piece with particularly fine work from Erik Hellman as the love-struck Johnse Hatfield and Sara Hoyer as his loving wife Rose Anna McCoy. Some may have trouble with all the killing but that is the story of these feuding clans. The production qualities are terrific (a House Theatre of Chicago’s trademark) and, despite all the gun shots, I liked this heart-wrenching allegorical look at family feuds.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: September 16, 2006
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