Bertolt Brecht’s 1939 play, Mother Courage and Her Children, is the greatest anti-war play of all time. Anti-war, anti-government and anti-capitalism, as we learn in the opening scene of this stirring new production by Trap Door Theatre.
A recruiting officer declaims, “What they could use around here is a good war. What else can you expect with peace running wild all over the place? You know what the trouble with peace is? No organization. And when do you get organization? In a war. Peace is one big waste of equipment. Anything goes. No one gives a damn.”
Max Truax (Brecht’s Pointed Heads and Round Heads) directs with exciting energy and attention to Brechtian rhythms in dialog as well as in songs. The play features half a dozen songs, sometimes performed as solos and sometimes by the company. Music composition is by Jonathan Guillen with sound design by Dan Poppen. The 1955 script translation is by Eric Bentley.
Holly Cerney gives a powerful performance as the lusty, battlefield businesswoman, Mother Courage (her real name is Anna Fierling). She and her three adult children pull their canteen wagon from one warfront to another, selling their goods to soldiers and citizens. Mother Courage dreads the arrival of peace too; it will ruin her business.
Her two sons, Eilef and Swiss Cheese (Bill Gordon and Rashaad A. Bond) are magnets for the recruiting officer. Her sweet mute daughter Katrin (Joan Nahid) is a magnet for unsavory activities; Mother Courage worries Katrin may never find a husband. (One of the amusing bits of dialog happens when a soldier enquires about the names of the family members and learns that the children all have different last names—and fathers.)
Kevin Webb’s roles as both the Officer and the Cook means he’s on stage throughout most of the play; his strong presence balances nicely against Cerney’s Mother Courage.
Caleb Lee Jenkins plays the Chaplain with appropriate gravitas. Yvette, a war zone coquette, is played with sexy zest by Nena Martins; her flashy red hat and red boots are signs of her occupation. Both of these actors double as soldiers.
Costumes are by Rachel Sypniewski and makeup by Zsófia Ötvös. The set design is by J. Michael Griggs with lighting by Richard Norwood. Kasia Olechno is stage manager.
War goes on and on; Mother Courage—and sometimes her children—pull their canteen wagon from place to place, like unofficial quartermasters. War never ends—and that is as good for business today as it was in the 17th century. Brecht’s play, written 85 years ago, rings as true today as it did at the dawn of World War II.
My only concern with this otherwise thrilling production is the ending, which varies from Brecht’s script and is a bit too cheery and ambiguous. In every other way, this is a satisfying production of a 20th century masterwork.
Mother Courage and Her Children has been extended through March 9 at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland St. Running time is 110 minutes with no intermission. See the website for tickets and more information.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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