Set in a small Norwegian spa town, Ibsen's AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE is about Doctor Thomas Stockmann, a man of principles who discovers that the spa's water is poisoned. He naively expects the mayor to greet the truth with gratitude, but the town's political machine will brook no threat to its prosperity, even if it means letting thousands of people be sickened. Doctor Stockmann becomes a whistleblower, and the public campaign against him mounts, setting up a moral battle between a lone truth teller and a society desperate for self-preservation.
Gold’s sharply accelerating production reveals the horror of hypocrisy, but, without outside assistance, it doesn’t quite challenge the audience’s own complicity. By the time the third Extinction Rebellion protestor arose, most of the crowd met him with vehement boos. Minutes later, Dr. Stockmann was back on his own soapbox demanding that he himself be heard: “Ask yourselves—Is what I’m saying dangerous? Or is ignorance dangerous? You don’t have to agree with me, I just ask that you listen, because I don’t have any reason to be up here, ruining my career, making my family suffer, except that I care about this place.”
Whether such directness is successful in imparting something beyond the thrill of live performance – the cascading second half is, as expected, a showcase for Strong’s ability to portray a man on the brink – is, perhaps, up to the viewer. The appliqué of dialogue clearly invoking our current denial to 1880s Norway is at times jarring, at times moving, but in the hands of some veteran actors and immersive staging, at least a night of good New York theater.
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1950 | Broadway |
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Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Adaptation | Amy Herzog |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Caleb Eberhardt |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Jeremy Strong |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Sam Gold |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | An Enemy of the People |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Jeremy Strong |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | An Enemy of the People |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | David Zinn |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Isabella Byrd |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Jeremy Strong |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | An Enemy of the People |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | dots |
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