The Elephant Man April 25, 2010
Posted by apollopac in 2010 Shows.trackback
Synopsis
The Elephant Man is the moving, poetic, and true-life story of Joseph Carey Merrick. The play explores the journey of this remarkable man, from an object of curiosity and social revulsion to celebrity.
In the play, John Merrick is a man whose body is so grossly deformed by disease that he lives as a carnival attraction “The Elephant Man,” in the slums of London A renowned and affluent doctor, Frederick Treves endeavors to study Merrick’s condition and convinces the Londong Hospital to take him in as a resident patient. A friendship between the two men blossoms and Treves, as well as the hospital staff, discover that Merrick is not the mindless victim they thought him to be, but a man of remarkable intelligence and sensitivity. His life, tragic destiny, and spiritual quest, is relevant to our lives today on countless levels.
While animals may abandon their disabled, as human beings we would like to believe that we have evolved beyond this behavior, and certainly the little protections afforded by our anti-discrimination laws are a step in the right direction. But as the story of Joseph Merrick tells us, there is a lot more we can do to foster the spiritual and artisitc nature of all human beings, including those in whom nature has altered the standard set of genes.
History
The Elephant Man was first produced in London at the Hampstead Theatre. It soon moved to New York and opened Off-Broadway at the Theatre of St. Peter’s Church, and then to Broadway and the Booth Theatre. Pomerance’s play earned good reviews and a number of awards, including a Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Obie Award.
The play is based on the story of Joseph Merrick; in large part, it draws from the book by Frederick Treves, which chronicles Merrick’s life story. Critics applauded Pomerance’s efforts to depict the conflict that results when Treves saves Merrick from the freak shows only to exploit Merrick himself.
The play earned a Tony Award for Best Play in 1979, and several of the actors and actresses in the show have recieved Tonys for their performances in The Elephant Man.
Memorable Quotes
Bytes: Life!…is full of surprises. Consider the fate of this creature’s poor mother, struck down in the fourth month of her maternal condition by an elephant, a wild elephant. Struck down!…on an uncharted African isle. The result is plain to see..Ladies and gentlemen…The terrible…Elephant Man!
John Merrick: I am not an animal! I am a human being! I…am…a man!
Mrs. Kendall: Why, Mr. Merrick, you’re not an elephant man at all.
John Merrick: Oh no?
Mrs. Kendall: Oh no…no…you’re a Romeo!
Carr Gomm: Can you imagine the kind of life he must have had?
Dr. Frederick Treves: Yes, I think I can.
Carr Gomm: I don’t think so. No one could possibly imagine it! I don’t believe any of us can.
John Merrick: People are frightened by what they don’t understand.
John Merrick: Do you know why my head is so big, Miss Kendall? It is because it is filled with dreams.
