When I say “Strindberg,” what word comes to mind? Probably not “comedy.”
But the Swedish playwright, a pioneer of naturalistic dialog, dark life-and-death plots, and survival-of-the-fittest dilemmas—did write a comedy, a sitcom called First Warning. And you can see this one-act gem in an original English translation by Robert Greer, who also directs.
Middle-aged Axel (Mike Roche) loves his somewhat younger wife Olga (Natalie Menna), but wishes she were “already old and ugly” so he would not feel so “ridiculous” when confronted by the amorous attentions of their landlady, the Baroness (Anne Stockton), and her oversexed teenaged daughter Rosa (Holly O’Brien).
Rosa (Holly O’Brien) is far from subtle in her desire for Axel (Mike Roche). Photo by Jonathan Slaff
That Axel and Olga will ultimately stay together is obvious from the start, as they spend more than five of the play’s 45 minutes dancing (awkwardly) to show tunes such as Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Some Enchanted Evening,” and Lerner & Loewe’s “I Could Have Danced All Night.”
The spare set (uncredited) lit by Alexander Bartenieff, and the costumes by Billy Little, are all that’s needed to convey the Mitteleuropean milieu.
Roche, nearly bald despite a line about going gray, bounds and bounces energetically as Axel’s wished-for new passions conflict with the comfort of a 15-year marriage to his still-very-desirable wife.
By contrast, Strindberg short-changed Olga. Menna fits the character well, but Olga’s motivation for her waxing and waning affection is not as well articulated in the script as Axel’s.
The Baroness (Anne Stockton) and Axel (Mike Roche) share a quiet intimacy. Photo by Jonathan Slaff
Stockton’s Baroness has the right regal bearing, coupled with a realistic late-in-life come-on. One could wish her voice were a bit stronger, though.
The play had its first performance in Germany in 1893. But the character of erotically-charged Rosa was controversial from day-one. First Warning wasn’t produced in Sweden until 1907! O’Brien is suitably exhibitionistic, and a barrel of laughs (singing “Whatever Rosa Wants, Rosa Gets,” like Lola in Adler & Ross’s Damn Yankees). But—sorry—she looks too old to portray a girl of 19.
Strindberg is a key figure in the development of modern drama qua drama: metaphorically, he was the son of Ibsen and the father of O’Neill, though his plays are more of an acquired taste than those of the others. But if you like turn-of-the-last-century comedies, and certainly if you are a Strindberg completist, go see First Warning.
Opening Photo: Axel (Mike Roche) dances with his wife Olga (Natalie Menna) in Robert Greer’s English translation of August Strindberg’s First Warning. Photo by Jonathan Slaff
First Warning is produced by the August Strindberg Rep at the Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave.
