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Great Brecht productions are rare beasts.
His plays are about presentation more than theyre about representation, and that makes them hard to crack.
The Greek root ofepicmeans simplyword.)
But in America we love our mimesis, the more eccentric and authentic the better.
Joaquin PhoenixisJohnny Cash not Joaquin PhoenixasJohnny Cash.
We like believing and feeling; Brecht wanted us witnessing and thinking.
Nobody talks about me anymore!
whines Ui (Esparza) near the plays beginning.
… Its influence what counts and not the act, / And influence depends on bank balance.
/ Sometimes I feel I wanna quit.
They shot at me!
he moans, shocked that the local law enforcement has no respect for his criminal authority.
Esparza is on fire from word one.
Doyle smartly pushes the tempo of the genre-rich dialogue wewantto feel a little bit behind these characters.
Speed constant dizzying action, each more shockingly corrupt than the last is one of Uis chief weapons.
If we cant keep up, how can we resist?
(The day will come, the ghost warns his murderer, when everyone you smashed will rise.)
He does them Classics.
I dont want to look natural, snaps Ui with a showmans devious savvy.
/ What counts is what the little hick imagines / Bosses act like.
They arent too much, and they are more than enough.
Business in bloom, thats what we want, correct?
smiles Ui, teeth flashing, at the Cicero tycoon he wants to put in his pocket.
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Uiis at Classic Stage Company through December 22.
