By JOHN BONAZZO
THEATER CRITIC

Audiences may do a double take when they enter the theater for the Fordham Experimental Theater (FET) production of Fargo. To bring home the wintry ambience of this adaptation of the Coen brothers’ film, the Blackbox has been transformed into a “whitebox,” with the entire playing area painted snowy white. This perfectly sets the tone for the absorbing tale about to unfold.

Set in Minnesota in 1987, Fargo centers on Jerry Lundegaard, a car salesman in dire financial straits. To make some cash, he enlists the criminal duo of the “funny-looking” Carl Showalter and the strong, silent Gaear Grimsrud to kidnap his wife Jean in exchange for a car and $40,000 of ransom money. In their travels, the kidnappers end up in a tough spot and kill three people. Pregnant police chief Marge Gunderson investigates the crime, and through her detective work she learns of Jerry’s plan. A large-scale investigation is set in motion, which entangles a cast of idiosyncratic Midwesterners.

Directors and adapters Michael McCarville and Nicholas Pappas utilize the Blackbox stage to its full potential, using three distinct playing areas to give each part of the story its own weight. They have taken a “less is more” approach to staging and props; this works well, even making the famous “wood chipper” scene subtle. Their one hiccup is that they have included two intermissions, which interrupts the momentum in a show that is only about 80 minutes.

Maddy Hoepf, ‘16 is a tender but focused Marge Gunderson, effectively mixing Midwestern “You betcha” niceness with serious police work. Pete Capodilupo, ’15 effortlessly shows Jerry’s transition from an innocent car salesman to a criminal accessory in over his head. Devin Chowske, FCRH ‘14 shows the tension bubbling under Carl’s surface, which erupts several times throughout the show in ways both hysterical and menacing. Steve Tyson,’14 makes Gaear like just another quiet tough, but his few well-placed lines telegraph his violent actions at the play’s end; he and Chowske have great chemistry. Joe Gallagher,’15, as Jerry’s father-in-law Wade, is an entertaining crotchety old man when the play starts (he hates that his grandson goes to, in his drawl, “MacDonald’s”), but as the plot thickens he shows another caring yet tough side. An ensemble of cops, whores and Minnesota local color also does uniformly great work.

The Coen brothers won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Fargo, and this adaptation is a fine work in its own right. McCarville and Pappas have taken the spirit of the original film and transported it to the stage, thanks to prudent design and directorial choices and a great ensemble cast. The last show of Fordham’s fall theater season may not be cheery, but it is quite well done.

Categories: Arts & Entertainment