If the words “O Captain, my Captain” conjure visions of Ethan Hawke standing on a desk while Robin Williams’ eyes well up, you’re not alone. And though “Dead Poets Society” is two decades and one ocean removed from Alan Bennett’s “The History Boys,” staged by Theatre Group in its Denver-area premiere, the character of Quirky Teacher With Unique Approach to Learning is a familiar one.
But Bennett’s much-lauded, Tony-winning tale of a second-rate English boy’s school in post-industrial Sheffield and a group of students prepping for long-shot admission exams to Oxford and Cambridge is engaging as much for the ways in which he employs the standard, sappy heartstring tugs as for the ways he insists on subverting them.
Hector, played with a nice blend of charm and exasperation by Stephen Maestas, is the effusive, cherubic schoolmaster who challenges his gifted students to learn simply for the love of learning, through classroom devices like songs, acting out scenes from films and a French lesson taught by improvising a scene from a brothel.
Another schoolmaster, Irwin (David Russell, in a sharp and multilayered performance) is brought in by the school’s grasping headmaster (Roger Winn) to whip the boys into shape by showing them how to write exam answers that are deliberately skewed in order to grab the attention of evaluators.
Bennett’s story has a similar, self-consciously outre streak; the playwright is downright fearless about adding dollops of twists.
The hetero- and homosexual yearnings of the boys are discussed frankly, for one. And the beloved schoolmaster not only challenges the boys’ critical thinking abilities, he also jovially fondles his charges on after-school scooter rides.
Far from devolving into a Lifetime Channel child molestation weeper, the boys take Hector’s ministrations in stride, even wondering aloud, giggling, whether they may be traumatized for life over the motorized manipulations.
Bennett inverts the presumptive power disparity by having the boys feeling sorry for Hector and treating his desperate fumbling as a bit of a joke.
Subplots involving unrequited lust between two of the students — a thoroughly engaging Sean Mellott as school stud Dakin and charming Rob Riney as Posner — and a developing interest one of the students takes in the new teacher Irwin fill out the story.
But the main thrust of the tale has to do with words, with defining truth, and what the purpose of learning is, and the ensuing battle between the dueling schoolmasters for the hearts and minds of the boys. The play lives and dies on the snappy banter between characters, on the connections they have with the concepts they’re discussing, as well as with each other. On both fronts there are gaps here.
Even with an opening delayed by a week and the pressure of regionally premiering a Tony-winning play, the Sam Woods-directed show feels underrehearsed. There is an unevenness not only between scenes but between characters and actors that gives it a jagged, disconnected feel.
One glaring soft spot is wildly inconsistent dialects. Granted, half a dozen of these actors are in their teens and 20s, but one hopes for more from seasoned actors like Maestas and Gwen Harris, even in the admittedly thankless role of Mrs. Lintott. For a show that has so many plot points and a vocabulary so deeply ingrained in British culture, it’s impossible not to notice when more than half the cast simply gives up on the accent.
David Russell as Irwin is the only one with a really strong, consistent Midlands dialect; it’s a shame that it becomes almost a distraction amid the cacophony of poor or non-existent ones.
That said, Maestas does a good job of bringing out Hector’s alternating idealism and despair, and Russell is magnificent as the conflicted “bad guy” upsetting Hector’s apple cart.
Between these two, the aforementioned Mellott and Riney, and promising high school junior Taylor Rascher as Scripps, there are some endearing, genuine moments. Perhaps with time the show will grow more connective tissue, but for now the effect is scattershot.
“The History Boys” **1/2 (out of four stars)
British school drama. Presented by Theatre Group at Theatre Off-Broadway, 1124 Santa Fe Drive. Written by Alan Bennett. Directed by Sam Wood. Starring David Russell. Through June 28. 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, select Thursdays. $17-$24. 303-777-3292 or
This weekend’s theater openings
“3 Mo’ Divas.” Marion J. Caffey’s “theatrical concert” featuring three female singers performing 35 songs that span from 1770 to 2003. Look for an interview with Caffey in Friday’s Post. Through June 29. Denver Center Theatre Company. Stage Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or
“The House of Yes.” Wendy MacLeod’s dark comedy treads the line between disturbing and hilarious, profound and absurd. The Pascals are a dysfunctional family whose world is permeated with secrets and mind games. The play explores tragedy on simultaneously intimate and national scales. Through May 24. Square Product Theatre, ATLAS Center, University of Colorado, Boulder,
“Greater Tuna” Two actors play 24 residents of Tuna, Texas’ third-smallest town, Through Aug. 17. Nonesuch Theatre, 216 Pine St., Fort Collins, 970-224-0444 or
“The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” Bertolt Brecht’s morality tale basically recasts Hitler as a 1930s Chicago mobster. Through June 14. Countdown to Zero Productions. At the Bindery Space, 770 22nd St, Denver, 720-221-3821 or
“John Gabriel Borkman” Henrik Ibsen’s penultimate composition, written in 1896, is based on an incident from an earlier period in his life: The attempted suicide of an army officer who had been accused of embezzlement. Through May 31. Upstart Crow, Dairy Center for the Arts, 2590 Walnut St., Boulder, 303-444-7328 or
“Fiddler on the Roof”The classic musical about the small town of Anatevka as it comes together to celebrate life, mourn death, rejoice in marriage, and care for one another. Through July 6. Union Colony Dinner Theatre, 802 9th Ave., Greeley, 970-352-2900 or
Running Lines tgurns 2! …
John Moore is on assignment but next week we’ll kick off the first of four straight special episodes marking two full years of “Running Lines” podcasts with the local and national theater communities. First up: Find out who John met up with trolling the streets of New York City. The audio fun begins Thursday, May 22.
