A new play by the Williams Street Rep aims to prove that beauty lies beneath the surface.
The Williams Street Repertory presents “The Elephant Man” May 3-19 at the Raue Center for the Arts in Crystal Lake.
The drama by Bernard Pomerance is based on the life of Joseph Merrick (referred to in the play as John), a Victorian-era man afflicted with a disorder called neurofibromatosis that left him disfigured. The play premiered in London in 1977 and has been revived several times. Bradley Cooper won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in 2015 for portraying Merrick.
Performances are at 8 p.m. May 3-4, 10-11 and 17-18; and at 3 p.m. May 12 and 19.
Merrick is played by Williams Street Rep company member James Knight.
“It’s actually a dream role for me,” he said. “It’s a part I’ve always wanted to play and had my eye on for some time.”
He was attracted to the role not only for the challenge it poses to the actor playing Merrick but by the beauty of the story, he said.
“It comes with a tremendous amount of physical challenges to perform the role and it has real emotional depth to it and the play itself has an incredibly important message,” he said. “I thought it was both important to try and put that message out there and I wanted to experience the part and challenge myself.”
“The Elephant Man” is based on true events. Joseph Merrick, being unable to find work because of his condition, finally found a place as an attraction in a traveling sideshow.
Discovered by Dr. Frederick Treves, Merrick was admitted to the prestigious Whitechapel Hospital in London. Under Treves’ care, Merrick was introduced to London’s society, where he actually became a star thanks to his wit and intelligence
“In a strange coincidental turn of fate, the Elephant Man become sort of a sensation at the hospital and had a number of people — members of Victorian high society — come and visit him,” Knight said. “The play takes you through those early years with the sideshow but mainly focuses on the relationship between Merrick and the doctor and how those two men kind of changed each other through their experiences.”
Merrick only lived to age 27 and lived the bulk of his last years in the hospital, which is where the majority of the play’s action takes place, Knight said.
The role of Merrick is performed without makeup and prosthetics, he said.
“It’s all up to the actor to manifest and represent Merrick through physically articulating their body and holding that position for the duration of the play,” he said. “It is impossible to physically represent the way Merrick was disfigured through his disorder. But holding that position is incredibly taxing for me. I started making more body-positive choices months before we started our first day of rehearsal … to make sure my body is in as good of shape as it can be to hold those positions.”
In addition to the physical challenges, Knight is ever-mindful of the fact that he’s playing someone who lived and breathed and who represents a medical condition that at the time did not have a name.
“The story has a lot of emotional weight and as an actor I want to be as truthful as I can to those moments. So that requires me to have an open heart and an open mind and use every tool that I have in my abilities to try and bring that forth,” he said.
“Beyond that, there are still ways that I am finding myself surprised by the true story that we’re telling, by the accounts of the true person. I want to do justice to that and portray this in the best and most respectful way that I can.”
He thinks audiences will appreciate the beauty of the story as well as the journey it will take them on, he said.
“I think everyone can relate to and buy into the idea that there is real beauty if you are willing to look further into someone,” he said. “The most striking thing about him is that despite all of the challenges and all of the hardships and all of the miserable things that were thrown at him in the beginning, he still manages, by all truthful accounts, to be this incredibly loving, generous, kind person and to take that journey I think is something that audiences can’t help but relate to on the most basic emotional level.”
He was also surprised by the number of funny moments in the play.
“As I’ve been working with the other actors and the director in the room, it’s surprising how many things we find ourselves laughing at,” he said. “Merrick was very aware of his own situation and as delicate as a person that he could be some time, I think he was able to connect with people despite of all that and sometimes in unusually ironic and even funny ways.”
Merrick’s disorder affected the growth of his bones, which in turn affected his skeletal and muscular systems. He was intelligent, accomplished and well-read, Knight said.
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He thinks the story “The Elephant Man” tells is beautiful and well-told and has a message that everyone can take to heart, he said, which is to look past the surface and discover the beauty inside.
“There is humanity in all of us and there’s beauty in all of us,” he said. “People who you would disregard or look away from more often than not have even more beautiful things to offer us all. I think this is an incredibly profound message. I think people will hopefully leave this production changed and really moved by the beautiful story of John Merrick.”
‘The Elephant Man’
When: May 3-19
Where: Raue Center For The Arts, 26 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake
Tickets: $35.50
Information: 815-356-9212; www.rauecenter.org