By: Charlotte Reilly
The Omaha Community Playhouse’s rendition of the classic John Steinbeck novella “Of Mice and Men” gives the audience a taste of drifters’ struggles during the Great Depression.
The play follows Steinbeck’s 1937 American tragedy, focused on ranch hands and vagrants Lennie and George. Lennie is incredibly strong, but has the mind of a child. George travels with and takes care of Lennie, albeit sometimes reluctantly.
The play opens with Lennie and George walking to a ranch for harvesting jobs. They have just “escaped” from their last job. Lennie, who enjoys feeling soft things like fur and velvet, grabbed ahold of a woman’s dress. She yelled that he had raped her, and men wanted to lynch Lennie. George and Lennie had to hide in an irrigation ditch for hours.
George and Lennie decide to stay the night near a stream and head to the new ranch in the morning. They talk of their dreams to own a farm and “live off the fat of the land.” Before they fall asleep, George makes sure Lennie knows to come to the stream and hide in the brush if he gets into trouble at the new ranch.
In the morning, Lennie and George meet their coworkers, the boss, the boss’s son, Curley, and Curley’s wife. Curley cannot keep track of his wife, who is always wandering around the ranch and talking to the workers. He is infuriated by thought of his wife being with anyone else. Lennie is fascinated by Curley’s wife, and George tells him to stay away from her because it will lead to trouble between them and Curley.
Steve Catron’s (Curley) performance was a bit too aggressive and made the fight scenes seem melodramatic. The abrasiveness of his character was overdone, and the play would have been better if the character was toned down.
Tony Schik (Lennie) portrays his character perfectly, as a loud, sweet, child-like man. The minute Schik meets Mallory Vallier (Curley’s wife), the audience can sense trouble. Vallier’s performance is also outstanding. She frustrates the audience by constantly wandering off and getting the ranch workers into trouble.
Josh Peyton does an excellent job portraying George, who is protective and irritated by Lennie. Peyton’s relatable “things would be so easy if I was alone” speech makes the audience feel for him and understand his frustration with caring for Lennie. However, the star of the show was definitely Candy’s dog, who behaved perfectly and garnered an audible sigh from the audience when he first walked on stage.
In addition to the overall excellent acting, the set design was well done. The stage was small, but the layout made it appear larger and gave it more dimension. The bunk beds, fire pit, dressers, etc. made the play very life-like. Although, if you are allergic to hay, avoid this show because there is a large amount in the barn.
The sound effects of running water, gun shots, birds chirping and dogs howling also brought the show to life and took the audience back in time. The rustic music and chirping crickets made the audience believe they too were working on a 1930-era ranch.
The play ends, quite literally, with a bang, as George is forced to do something that breaks the hearts of those in the audience. Even though most members of the audience had read the book, they were shocked and devastated all over again.
The Omaha Community Playhouse’s “Of Mice and Men” will run through March 17, and tickets are available on its website.
It is definitely a show worth watching for all those who enjoy a bittersweet story of friendship and loss.
