Word: brecht
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...defies the authorities and continues his work, until he is finally brought before the Inquisition. At that point, a messenger announces to his disciples that the bell of St. Mark's will ring at five o'clock sharp to signify that at five, the young scientists rejoice. But Brecht has the bell ring at 5:03 to simultaneously shatter their illusions and to show us how even super-men can be late. Thus Brecht toys with the tension build-up to make Galileo as much an anti-hero...
...play often at the expense of the Brechtian irony. The dialogue, for example, is often spoken with passion rather than with detachment. His stage, however, is far too small for the pageantry scenes, and Murray has made no attempt to enlarge it with devices. As a result, Brecht's intended contrast between the large and the intimate scenes often gets muddled...
...Brecht drew his Galileo as a big belching proletarian who would belch even in the Pope's presence. Tony van Bridge seems far too well-mannered with the Establishment, but among his scientist friends he back-slaps sufficiently. He brings extreme power to the role, perhaps too much. The rest of the Charles cast rarely reaches his heights or depths. Lynn Milgrim provides the one exception with her brilliant performance as Galileo's light-hearted daughter who changes into a madonna-like grey-haired spinster...
Lawrence Pressman also does well as the disciple, Andrea Sarti. Brecht intended Galileo's little band to resemble a revolutionary conspiracy of sorts, and Mr. Pressman often seems the reincarnation of the young Trotsky. His scene with the dying Galileo at the very end of the play is appropriately the high point of the evening...
...Bridge, the fire is there -- the play often wraps and wiggles with the power of a python. The Charles, in short, deserves a medal both for its courage in attempting Galileo and for its large measure of success in setting off so many of the depth charges which Brecht placed in this play...