Spring Break
One man play is on the Marx
FRANK SCHULER
Issue date: 11/16/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
A revolution barreled into the Kiva Center Nov. 3 in the form of Karl Marx played by Bob Weick.
NCC's Progressive Student Alliance sponsored "Marx In Soho," a play by Howard Zinn which resurrects the German philosopher to address today's issues, clear his name and show us that Marxism isn't dead.
Armed with newspapers and statistics, Marx assaults today's version of capitalism and previous forms of communism. He criticizes the U.S. for not having national health care coverage for its citizens while other countries with half the GNP of the U.S. do. He speaks out against the Soviet Union's form of communism for killing its own citizens over political dissent and crime.
"Marx In Soho" isn't just a one man play. It is a performance that engages the audience and makes Marx's ideas personable through the tales of his friends and family. Weick was even more personable to the Kiva center audience when he mentioned the possibility of casinos in the Christmas City.
Weick's hour and a half performance runs the gamut of emotions.
The Kiva center audience chuckled when Marx denied being a Marxist. They roared in laughter at his tales of drunken wrestling with his friends. He evoked pity when the joy of speaking about his children's lives made way for sadness in speaking of their deaths. Some in the audience may have even felt fear when he screamed with anger over the pointlessness of warfare.
Marx thoroughly expresses his ideas and confronts those of his critics, the biggest of which is his wife. Marx challenges the audience to take his side at the criticism that his book "Das Kapitol" is too boring by reading a passage to the audience and asking if they understand what he means. He abandons his defense of that criticism when no one acknowledges understanding him.
After the play Weick holds a question and answer session with the audience. The questions range from socialism to his portrayal of Karl Marx. It's interesting to find out that the man who plays Marx so intensely was actually fearful of performing the play alone.
Weick's performance of "Marx In Soho" is astounding and will leave any audience thinking about the subject long after the play has ended.
NCC's Progressive Student Alliance sponsored "Marx In Soho," a play by Howard Zinn which resurrects the German philosopher to address today's issues, clear his name and show us that Marxism isn't dead.
Armed with newspapers and statistics, Marx assaults today's version of capitalism and previous forms of communism. He criticizes the U.S. for not having national health care coverage for its citizens while other countries with half the GNP of the U.S. do. He speaks out against the Soviet Union's form of communism for killing its own citizens over political dissent and crime.
"Marx In Soho" isn't just a one man play. It is a performance that engages the audience and makes Marx's ideas personable through the tales of his friends and family. Weick was even more personable to the Kiva center audience when he mentioned the possibility of casinos in the Christmas City.
Weick's hour and a half performance runs the gamut of emotions.
The Kiva center audience chuckled when Marx denied being a Marxist. They roared in laughter at his tales of drunken wrestling with his friends. He evoked pity when the joy of speaking about his children's lives made way for sadness in speaking of their deaths. Some in the audience may have even felt fear when he screamed with anger over the pointlessness of warfare.
Marx thoroughly expresses his ideas and confronts those of his critics, the biggest of which is his wife. Marx challenges the audience to take his side at the criticism that his book "Das Kapitol" is too boring by reading a passage to the audience and asking if they understand what he means. He abandons his defense of that criticism when no one acknowledges understanding him.
After the play Weick holds a question and answer session with the audience. The questions range from socialism to his portrayal of Karl Marx. It's interesting to find out that the man who plays Marx so intensely was actually fearful of performing the play alone.
Weick's performance of "Marx In Soho" is astounding and will leave any audience thinking about the subject long after the play has ended.
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