Full of Dreams: The Playhouse's Elephant Man
Theatrical production grapples with compassion in the face of bitter assumption
Premiering Friday, Oct. 10
"He has seen enough of daily evil to be thankful for small goods that come his way," wagers Francis Carr-Gomm, administrator of the London Hospital, speaking of resident Joseph Merrick. Known to the world as the eponymous Elephant Man, Merrick was born in 1862 with an unknown physical abnormality causing him to be severely disfigured. Though doctors nearly a century after his death would link his affliction to Proteus syndrome, what is known is the transformative impact he made.
Brought to life by with the lush language of playwright Bernard Pomerance, the Tony-Award-winning Elephant Man was first staged in 1977 in London. The play tells the real-life story of Merrick (called John in the play), who is discovered in a freak show and subsequently moved for study to the Royal London Hospital. Despite being disguised by a sackcloth or hidden away in his room, Merrick manages to build a deep bond with nearly everyone he meets. As he methodically constructs a model of St. Philip's Church, Merrick connects with actresses, orderlies, and aristocrats alike.
Audiences who are only familiar with historical photographs or the 1980 David Lynch film of the same name will immediately note that the stage play presents Merrick free of any prosthetics. From the introduction of the script itself, Pomerance concludes that "Merrick's face was so deformed he could not express any emotion at all. His speech was very difficult to understand without practice." He continued that "any attempt to reproduce his appearance and his speech naturalistically – if it were possible – would seem to me not only counterproductive, but, the more remarkably successful, the more distracting from the play. [To give the audience an idea of] how he appeared, [we'll] let slide projections suffice."
"This is the kind of role that actors dream about," admitted Zach Flock, who will be portraying Merrick. "It's mentally and physically complex. In addition to normal things like memorization and character development, it requires complete commitment and even physical training unlike anything I've done, probably since college." Also serving as the executive director of the Erie Playhouse, Flock reasoned that "I'm drawn to a challenge, and I love doing the work."
Joining Flock will be Howard Lang – the PACA and Dramashop actor/playwright making his Playhouse debut as surgeon Frederick Treves. Jim Nash also graces the Playhouse stage for the first time as Carr-Gromm, with Nick Iacobucci, Kim Overton, Karen Schelinski, Char Newport, Ed Moss, and Bryson Berkowitz (debuting as well). The scenes are accompanied by the haunting score of a single cello (Dan Bainbridge).
"There's a lot of humor and so much heart to this story," Flock added. "If people are expecting something dark and scary, this isn't Frankenstein. It's a really beautiful piece of theater told by a dedicated team of artists. I hope audiences find joy and connection in the story."
Oct. 10–26, Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. // 13 W. 10th St. // $20.40 to $30.40 // For tickets and more information, call (814) 454-2852 or visit erieplayhouse.org
