'History Boys' shows that professional quality theater is alive and well in Southampton

By Lee Davis
Feb 3, 09 11:37 AM

Professional quality theater is alive and well here in the nonprofessional, offseason Hamptons, in the Southampton Cultural Center’s astonishing and electrifying Center Stage production of Alan Bennett’s award-winning play, “The History Boys.”

Michael Disher, the multi-talented director/choreographer/producer/set and costume designer who established his credentials with the Southampton Players at the campus formerly known as Southampton College, is back again, and this time, he’s holding an artistic straight flush: a brilliant play, beautifully performed and masterfully directed, with set and costumes perfectly matched.

It’s safe to bet that, for all the great qualities of “The History Boys,” no other local theater company with common sense will soon attempt to stage this absorbing and multi-layered play. It demands an ensemble that’s not only capable of realizing and projecting the individual and complex depths of 12 absorbing characters, eight of whom must be of high school age and able to dance, sing, and handle a few lines of classroom French.

Small wonder that Equity, the stage actors union, bent its rules and allowed the entirety of the original Olivier Award-winning 2004 London National Theatre cast to transfer the play intact to Broadway in 2006, where it swept that year’s Tony Awards.

The play follows the fortunes of eight high school seniors in northern England, and their teachers, as they prepare for the “A level” exams that will determine whether or not they get into either Oxford or Cambridge, contracted to “Oxbridge” for teacher shorthand.

Mr. Bennett was a history teacher before leaving education for playwriting, TV and screenwriting, and, in “The History Boys,” he’s written his finest work yet, a tragicomedy of delicious wit and breathtaking depth. With extraordinary sensitivity, the playwright explores the inner workings of the eight boys as each harnesses his own angst and intellect, begins to see the injustices of life, and struggles with identity issues, including gender preference.

And more: He has created three teachers, two of them with wildly contrasting approaches to education, guiding the destinies of the boys. Dorothy Lincott, though mostly on the fringe of the action, carves her own path in the shadow of Douglas Hector—and male educators in general. For his part, Hector, through inventive and sometimes eccentric methods, approaches history as an expression of and in relationship to life, humanity and the search for truth.

His classes are wildly varying preparations for the world beyond the classroom—too offbeat and with results too unquantifiable for the educational establishmentarian and headmaster Felix Armstrong. Looking for a better guarantee of admission to the top schools, the headmaster brings in, to share the class, Irwin, whose style is to teach entirely for the exam, not necessarily utilizing the truth, but finding odd interpretations of historical events in order to attract the attention of the examiners.

The open, fresh, humanities training of Hector contrasts with the rather stuffy monomethodology of Irwin, and this constitutes the outer, embracing conflict of the play. Equally important is the interweaving of inner conflicts and profound discoveries of the eight boys.

Improvising scenes from old movies in a game of stump the teacher is one way the students learn about life without opening a book in Hector’s classes. So is practicing French subjunctive verb forms in a mock brothel that is quickly converted to a field hospital for wounded soldiers when the headmaster enters to introduce Irwin.

Quite a tall order for nonprofessional actors, seven of whom in this production are still in local high schools. And yet, Mr. Disher has transformed the players in this production into actors who inhabit their characters so thoroughly, it’s as if they’re living, rather than playing, their parts. In fact, this cast is so comfortably and naturally real, it’s difficult to imagine them being anyone or anywhere else.

Altogether, Mr. Disher has welded together such a unified ensemble in this production, it’s unjust to separate out individual performances. Suffice to say that I have never, on a community stage here or elsewhere, witnessed and been enthralled as much as by the ease, concentration and camaraderie of the boys in this “History Boys.” Every one of them—Tim Ferris, Hara King, Christopher D’Amico (who also sings gloriously), Ryan Boedecker, Stephen D’Amico, Taylor Hoge, Jacob Boergessen, and Adam Fronc—deserves cheers.

As do the adults in the cast whose performances are equally riveting. Roland Hoffman splits two roles as a solid presence in both. Vay David has never been as controlled, sympathetic and believable as she is as Mrs. Lintott, the third teacher. Daniel Becker is strong and effective as Felix Armstrong, the headmaster.

Mark Anderson is striking and electric as Irwin, the history teacher who makes truth secondary to success in the examination. And John Tramontana presents with sensitivity and insight the many shadings in the many faceted Hector, the freewheeling teacher who, despite a self-defeating flaw, takes his students beyond the walls of the school into life and at least the suburbs of truth.

Michael Disher and Ken Rowland’s scenic design allows for a forward flow that tells the varied story of the play with unbroken lucidity. And Peter Eilenberg’s constantly active lighting design adds eloquent punctuation and focus to the evening.

If you see no other play this season, I urge you to see this one. And if you plan to see many more (which I hope you will,) I’ll wager that this production will remain in your memory as an extraordinary, unforgettable theater experience. Don’t miss it.

The Center Stage production of “The History Boys” continues on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. at the Southampton Cultural Center on Pond Lane. For ticket information, call 287-4377 or visit www.southamptonculturalcenter.org.