Reviewed
by Michael J. Opperman
In 1858, under Papist rule, Edgardo Mortara is taken from his Jewish parents to the House of Catechumens in Rome. At the time, Papal law forbid the raising of a Christian by Jews. Edgardo was a Christian only because of a haphazard baptism by the Catholic servant of his Jewish family. This is the triggering incident of Alfred Uhry's Edgardo Mine.
The greatest
difficulty surrounding the Guthrie Theater production is determining exactly what it is. The play as an
exploration of this wrenching incident is fundamentally a tragedy. Based on the
1850's Mortara Case and adapted from David Ketzer's The Kidnapping of
Edgardo Mortara, this is not the
material of comedy. Unfortunately, Uhry introduces elements of domestic drama
and even farce into the events. What begins as a performance of the deepest
pathos evolves into a befuddling mix of comedy and melodrama.
Opening with the
night of Edgardo's baptism, the play introduces the audience to Momolo Mortara
(Ron Menzel) and Marianna Mortara
(Jennifer Regan), as well as Nina
Morisi (Nancy Rodriguez), the
Catholic servant who sets the unfortunate events into motion. The set is sparse
and affecting. White columns rise from the floor and shadows follow the actors
about the stage. Momolo and Marianna are anxious over Edgardo's health - he is
struggling under an illness and signs of recovery are few. Nina, during the
night, worries over Edgardo's future beyond death and baptizes him as a
Catholic to ensure his place in heaven. The success of this scene lay in Uhry's
ability to succinctly depict the intersection of faith and its itinerant
results. Both the Mortaras and Nina petition God for Edgardo's recovery.
Edgardo lives and Nina believes her baptism to be the stuff of miracles.
Years go by before
this baptism is brought to the attention of the Catholic Church - before
Edgardo's religious status becomes international contention. An element of
comedy intrudes with the introduction of Pope Pius IX (Brian Murray). His pope is a compelling amalgam of the worldly and
the parochial. Though initially strange against the backdrop of the
contretemps, the character's humor is fitting as a luxury of the powerful. The
comedy attempted through the domestic drama of Momolo and Marianna is less
successful, ringing dull and wrong.
In the attention
to their relationship and to the sexual experiences of Nina, the focus on
Edgardo and the intersection of belief is reduced. Nina's faith is unfairly
mitigated by her desires and Marianna's engaging - but confusing - development
as a woman independent of her husband are too thinly explored to be considered
subplots. At the same time, too much time is spent for these concerns to be
dismissed.
As the second act
pulled toward the end, I wondered whether the play should be longer or shorter.
World affairs and even a miscalculated allusion to the Holocaust are pushed
into the play in the second act. These references simplify historical moments,
flattening the confluence of actors and events into a unified response to the
kidnapping and 'conversion' of Edgardo Mortara. The strength of Uhry's play is in a familial
immediacy - both Jewish and Catholic. Both Edgardo's parents and Pope Pius IX
(however racist) are invested in Edgardo's development and soul - the paradox
of this catastrophe is what drives the play. Attempting to reconfigure the
tragedy as a tragicomedy (without the happy ending) is ill considered.
Alfred Uhry
started his theatrical career as a lyric writer, making his Broadway debut with
Here's Where I Belong in 1968. An
adaptation of Eudora Welty's The Robber Bridegroom, and his first play Driving Miss Daisy followed. The Park Square Theater mounted a successful production of his Last Night of
Ballyhoo several years ago. Edgardo Mine represents an ambitious - and disappointing - departure from his
previous work.