The theater gods descended on the Cassius Carter Centre Stage in Balboa Park, bestowing upon director Ethan McSweeny a thrilling, complex and well-made play, casting that could not be better and technical support par excellence. Commissioned by the Old Globe, the world premiere play is Steven Drukman’s “In This Corner.” Do not miss it.
Theatergoers remember McSweeny’s award-winning 2006 production of Lee Blessing’s “A Body of Water” in the same space, another tiny miracle, especially to those who prefer plays up close. One prays that the theater gods also smile on the Globe’s impending remodel of the beloved and intimate theater.
“In This Corner” spans decades, beginning in 1933, when a youth rooted in Alabama’s red clay stumbles into a Detroit training gym and almost against his will becomes the Brown Bomber, Joe Lewis, who claimed the heavyweight title in 1937. As a boxer, Lewis was a creation of the press, his handlers and the times. As a creation of Drukman, his tragedy approaches that of Lear.
In the writer’s swiftly moving play, Max Schmeling ” the German prizefighter who defeated Lewis in 12 rounds in 1936 and lost to him in a 1938 rematch ” came to America in the 1970s and sought out Lewis, who was institutionalized. After retiring from the ring postwar,
Schmeling became a wealthy and successful businessman, but Lewis ” largely due to his extreme generosity and lack of practicality ” ran up a huge IRS debt during his glory years.
Like the Sword of Damocles, it hung over him the rest of his life.
Some historians wrote that Schmeling and Lewis became friends. They go a few philosophical rounds ” one of the play’s highlights. Drukman scatters duets and arias throughout, notably between Lewis and his trainer and Schmeling and his manager. During dialogue with Lewis, Schmeling declares boxing “the sweet science of bruising,” presumably lifted from “The Sweet Science,” a series of 1950s New Yorker articles written by A.J. Liebling, who in turn borrowed the phrase from Pierce Egan’s earlier sketches, “Boxiana.”
Where boxing itself is wordless, Drukman is not. Amusingly, he capitalizes on the purple prose sports writing of the day and invents characters and situations enriched by language and imagery, tying together disparate social issues from an era when common racial and ethnic practices allowed discrimination against negroes at home and Jews abroad.
Utterly convincing emotionally and intellectually, Dion Graham portrays Lewis. Rufus Collins is fine as Schmeling, a man of torn loyalties. The others in the company play multiple characters. T. Ryder Smith (“Lincolnesque”) changes facial hair and makeup ringside, right before our eyes transforming from boxing announcer to Hitler. Among other characters, Al White (“Two Trains Running”) plays Lewis’ trainer; David Deblinger, the press; and Katie Barrett, Lewis’ nurse and an unforgettable array of females. Prior to curtain, Globe/MFA actor John Keabler demonstrates the rigors of training.
Scenic designer Lee Savage transforms the Carter into a boxing ring, and though it’s irksome at times, all negotiate the ropes ably, indicating character and, in Collins’ example, touchingly, Schmeling’s aging (he really was the good German who in fact helped Lewis financially). Tracy Christiansen’s costumes are a joy and so are Lindsay Jones’ sound and Steve Rankin’s fight direction. Perhaps the most stunning of all technical elements, Tyler Micoleku’s lighting is another miracle of theatrical craft.
“In This Corner” continues through Feb. 10, playing at 7 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For tickets ($42-$59) and info, call (619) 23-GLOBE or visit www.theoldglobe.org.
