They say that blood is thicker than water but that is not always the situation, especially in the case of Henrik Ibsen’s “Enemy of the People A Rustbelt Adaptation by Les Hunter.” This is Ensemble Theatre’s first production at their new home in the Marinello Little Theatre at John Carroll University in University Heights.
Dr. Tammie Stockman (Laura Rauh) has a thriving practice in a mid-size city in the rust belt. She also serves as the city’s environmental watch dog. Her brother, Peter Stockman (Santino V. Montanez) is the mayor while her father Martin Stockman (Joseph Milan) has a large farm with a number of fracking wells on his property. Dr. Stockman is married to Kate Lee (Carolyn Demanelis) and together they are raising their adopted teenage daughter Petra (Kierstan Kathleen Conway) who is a budding avaunt guard film maker.
The town is on the verge of a major economic boom due to a natural spring that seemingly has medicinal properties, as people are traveling from far and wide to enjoy a healthy stay in the city. This means shops, spas and hotels are in the works as everyone wants to cash in on this new bonanza. Trouble arrives when test results come back to Dr. Stockman showing dangerous amounts of methanol, benzene, diesel, salts and anomalous ions among other toxins are in the water itself.
Dr. Stockman enlists the aid of the local newspaper owned by Heather (Rachel Zake) with Bill Wynnefield (Daniel Telford) its managing editor and top reporter. They plan to publish an exposé about the toxins and the cover-up by the city government. The newspaper, although a hundred years old and still family owned, is undergoing hard times with Heather on the verge of selling.
Anthony Kalan (Anthony Kalan) is the head of the local Chamber of Commerce who sees the damaging report and unpublished (as yet) article as a threat to the city’s future. A total revamp of the infrastructure is needed to the tune of $40 million. More importantly, it will delay opening of the spring for another four years. As Dr. Stockman attempts to get the word out on the cancer dangers of the spring (mostly stemming from the fracking wells chemicals), city forces are working behind the scenes to counter her efforts and bring public opinion against their accusations.
Ensemble Theatre has successfully completed their move from Notre Dame College to their new home at John Carroll University. To those planning to attend a show, I suggest you watch their short travel video found on their website. The new theater is a black box type with comfortable riser style seating.
As for this show, it is not too bad. At the Sunday matinee, it took a bit for the actors to get into the flow of the dialogue, but by mid-first act everything was moving along smoothly. This is a complicated work that has lots of elements and conflicts, but the cast managed to present it in an easy to understand fashion. It is not hard to discern who the baddies are. Laura Rauh as Dr. Stockman brings a sense of high morals to the role in a believable fashion. She is well accompanied by her crusading partners, Rachel Zake as Heather and Daniel Telford as Bill Wynnefield. They are up against a formidable foe in the persons of Santino V. Montanez as Mayor Stockman and Christian Achkar as Anthony Kalan, Chamber of Commerce President.
The stage set by Ian Hinz (who does the lighting design as well) is stark (a series of cloths draped in various shapes) that gives a depressed Rust Belt feel. At various times, moving images are projected onto the cloths to give visual clues as to location. Rebecca Moseley has three jobs as director, props and sound design and does all three with exemplary aplomb. The short avant-garde film is from Kierstan Kathleen Conway and Lilith Kocian.
Ensemble Theatre is well known for “fighting above their weight class,” taking on progressive and socially pertinent works. With the changes in our nation’s capital it is work such as this that we need to serve as a wake-up call. This refreshing upgrade of an 1882 classic still reverberates strong feelings today. Well worth the drive and walk to the theater.
The Ensemble Theatre production of Henrik Ibsen’s “Enemy of the People-A Rustbelt Adaptation By Les Hunter” will be on stage in the Marinello Little Theatre in the Lombardo Student Center at John Carroll University through February 23, 2025. For more information, tickets and directions go to ensembletheatre.org or call (216) 321-2930.
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This article appears in Jan 30 – Feb 12, 2025.