The narrative road to Bremen Town may be uneven in places but an excellent performance by the ensemble and strong direction with funny dialogue make this a fun and at times emotionally deep road trip.
The stage is beautifully framed by images that are reminiscent of a children’s fairy tale book (a thoughtful and lovely set design by Nancy Perrin who also did the costumes that are period grounded and character defining). Tatjana Cornij plays our narrator in this road trip tale that is most often seen in children’s stories, even if the language is certainly not child-friendly.
Our story follows Frau Esel (Nancy Palk) when she is unceremoniously sacked from her position as housekeeper and embarks on her back up plan to live with her son in Bremen Town. She is sardonic, pragmatic and sharp. She has a plan and she is sticking by it and believes the world is terrible and by god she is sticking by that too. Along the way she meets her future travelling party of endlessly hopeful magician and aspiring musician Herr Hund (Oliver Dennis), and the siblings Herr Katz (William Webster) and Frau Henne (Sheila McCarthy). They encounter a variety of characters (the ensemble of Dan Mousseau, Veronica Hortigüela, and Farhang Ghajar) from thugs to a bear trainer, to a monkey owner, to two capitalists with some clear mother issues, to a hostage victim to name a few.
It is a straightforward story supported effectively by Perrin’s set and lighting by Logan Raju Cracknell. However, that simplicity allows it to have room for tough conversations particularly around our aging population in a world eager to slap them with an expiration date. Each character embodies an aspect of growing older and how that affects their place in society and in their life. From cynical pragmatism, never ending optimism, caretaker nostalgia/responsibility to cognitive decline. The story is of a jaunty road trip with hard realities of how easily the elderly can be brushed aside in society and how the world can be especially cruel to a population that is being left behind for simply getting older.
It does however falter towards the end where it feels unfinished with character relationships and characters themselves dropped in a way that felt there was more to tell and endings that don’t land with as much power as they could. Though it is still a strong story despite the unevenness and lack of pop and conclusion at the ending. Where this story shines, however, is in its cast whose performances are also enhanced by the comedic direction and pace reminiscent of vaudeville comedy that can be credited to the director Gregory Prest.
Cornij as Vogel the narrator embodies this role with charm and wit as she narrates and participates in the story, having an active opinion on the action that she expresses to us and the other characters. She becomes a welcoming window for the audience and plays off the action on stage. The ensemble of Dan Mousseau, Veronica Hortigüela and Farhang Ghajar playing the other characters our road trip crew encounters makes the large variety of characters feel fresh and speaks well to their versatility and performance endurance.
Palk, Webster, Dennis, and McCarthy have such a consistent and fun chemistry on stage and the play is at its best when all four appear with their opposite goals and view points to clash and make room. Nancy Palk is a particular highlight as she brings both a single minded ruthlessness for her goal while also showcasing a struggle to be vulnerable and see more than just her cynical viewpoint on the world. Her Frau Esel is the comedic straight foil to Dennis’ Herr Hund as he tries to convince her life is worth enjoying and each day is a new opportunity. His endless optimism and carefree energy (despite his own life not being carefree at all) brushes up well against Esel’s relentless pragmatism and Dennis is delightful and charming in a way that really makes you root for him. Their chemistry and interactions are heartwarming and funny like a well experienced comedy duo. On the other half of their road trip team is the quiet and heartbreaking duo of Herr Katz and Frau Henne who contend with loss of community, caretaker responsibility and Henne’s mental health decline. They are a more quiet duo but still stand out in this story as well intentioned siblings who just want to live the rest of their days in peace. Each of these leads brings an energy to the stage that gives them moments to showcase and also blend with each other. It is truly a strong ensemble production that makes excellent use of everybody’s talents.
Bremen Town is a comedy, yes. But it is a comedy with heart and tough conversations about ageism in society. You feel for these characters and want them to succeed but also grow. Yes the ending of this journey has uneven writing and feels like plot threads and relationships are left unfinished but this is a fun and heartwarming road trip journey you won’t regret going on.