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| Donna Vivino is Natalie and Jim Stanek is Mickey in "Finks." (Photo by Kevin Berne) |
“Finks,” presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley,
is set in the early 1950s during the Red Scare, one of the more shameful
periods in American history.
Playwright Joe Gilford writes from a personal
perspective because his parents were caught up in it. He fictionalizes their
experience as theatrical people who faced blacklisting – that is, no chance to
work in the industry – if they didn’t reveal the names of others supposedly affiliated
with the Communist Party. They might face imprisonment for contempt of
Congress.
The House Un-American Activities Committee, or HUAC,
would call people to testify. If they didn’t cooperate, their careers would be ruined.
If they did cooperate, their colleagues called them finks and shunned them.
In the play, Gilford calls his father Mickey Dobbs
(Jim Stanek), a comic actor who reluctantly joined an activist theatrical group
led by actor Natalie Meltzer (Donna Vivino), to whom he was attracted and later
married.
The story is related in events involving them, their
friends and the HUAC hearings chaired by Rep. Francis Walter (Robert Sicular).
Walter’s name isn’t changed, nor is that of other characters such as Lee J.
Cobb, Elia Kazan and Budd Schulberg.
Besides Mickey and Natalie, the main characters
include artist Fred Lang (Gabriel Marin) and choreographer Bobby Gerard (Leo
Ash Evens). Some actors play several roles.
Directed by Giovanna Sardelli, the play is well
acted, but the script is episodic. Thus it feels jerky, especially in the first
act. The second act is stronger because it focuses on the agonizing choice
between career and betrayal of friends.
Design elements are effective with Andrea Bechert’s
set, Cathleen Edwards’ costumes, Steven B. Mannshardt’s lighting and Jake
Rodriguez’s sound. Choreography is by Dottie Lester-White.
Running slightly more than two hours with one
intermission, “Finks” will continue through July 1 at the Mountain View Center
for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View.
