‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ superb drama at Beasley

Category: Reviews

Theater Review: ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ superb drama at Beasley

By Loyal Fairman

The Daily Nonpareil

Published: Thursday, September 24, 2009 9:20 AM CDT

OMAHA – “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” by Dale Wasserman and based on Ken Kesey’s novel opened a four-weekend run at The John Beasley Theater & Workshop in South Omaha. Tyrone Beasley, the director, has a good cast in this famous story of one man’s defiant battle in a mental institution.

Randle P. McMurphy, played by Fred Slegers, has chosen the safe confines of a mental institution over the work prison where the court has sent him. He doesn’t realize that this sentence can be indefinite. He is a rebel and doesn’t want to live the catatonic life of his new-found buddies in the mental ward. Sleger does a very good portrayal of this character. He shakes up the system and creates waves where waves aren’t wanted.

His main adversary is Nurse Ratched, played with skill by Kelli Nesmith. She is totally upset with his defiant ways and does everthing to thwart his dissention. She is the captain who runs the ship and will do everything in her power to destroy McMurphy.

One of the most interesting parts is that of the silent Indian Chief Bromden, played with great power by Carl Brooks. He is very good as the Indian giant who can’t speak or hear, or can he?

The other inmates are: Dale Harding, played by Christopher Slater; Billy Bibbitt, played by Dayton Rogers; Cheswick, played by Charles Galloway; Scanlon, played by Mark Kocsis; Martini, played by Geoffry Stienblock; and Ruckley, played by Mark O’Leary. All of the inmates are fascinating characters with their own problems, and the actors are very good in their portrayals. There are six others in the cast who are also very talented.

This is an intriguing drama that also offers a lot of laughs as McMurphy rocks the boat of mental institutions of the past. The dialogue has been updated to use some modern medication names. This is an enjoyable production that challenges the over-use of shock treatments and lobotomies by mental health professionals in the past.

The intimate atmosphere of the John Beasley Theater is a perfect setting for this incredible show. Tyrone Beasley’s simple set of a mental ward works well. Lighting by Tom Bertino is right on, especially in the scenes where the chief is the focus and the inmates move in slow motion behind him.

If you would like a theatrical experience that challenges and makes you think, “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” is definitely worth seeing. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The show runs through Oct. 11 at The John Beasley Theater and Workshop located in the La Fern Williams YMCA at 30th and Q streets in South Omaha. Curtain times are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Ticket prices are $25 for adults, and $20 for seniors and students. The box office can be reached at (402) 502-5767.

Reviewer Loyal Fairman can be reached at loyal.fairman@woodbinetwiner.com.