Harvard professor Charles Nichols (the estimable Bryan Cranston) opens a can of worms when he invites a notorious white nationalist to speak at an annual lecture series. Nichols, a firm believer in the 1st Amendment, thinks that everyone has a right to speak his mind, even if he’s a racist and an anti-Semite. Many people on campus disagree with him, including his dean (Amy Brenneman), his colleagues (Hugo Armstrong, Brandon Scott), and two of his best students (Seth Numrich, Tedra Millan). They put pressure on him to retract his invitation and ban the white nationalist from spewing hate on the college’s lecture stage.
This is the conflict that lies at the heart of Power of Sail, the drama by Paul Grellong which has just opened at the Geffen in a splendid production directed by Weyni Mengesha. It is a drama which has been acted out in real life on countless campuses in recent years, with the forces of the cancel culture slugging it out with the 1st Amendment faithful. The ideological battle is a deep and complex one, as Grellong shows so incisively in his play, which is made all-too-relevant at this time in our history, when the forces of reaction keep battering away at the foundations of democracy.
Should we tolerate without limits the intolerant, knowing that their ideas might possibly help destroy our society? This is the dilemma Prof. Nichols — and the other characters — face in Power of Sail. How they deal with it, in their different ways, is what gives the story its power, complexity… and humor (at key times).
It’s a story that moves crisply, thanks to the Geffen’s revolving stage, which allows scenes to unfold quickly in a variety of settings: the professor’s office, a train station, a local ginmill, a meeting room, etc.
Against that large canvas, the characters are given room to change before our eyes. The peeling back of character, the revealing of secrets and hidden agendas, are what gives Power of Sail its unique strength and appeal. There’s a surprise at every turn in the road.
The meaning of the play’s title comes clear about half way into the story, by the way. It’s a nautical expression which states that motorboats must give way to sailboats. Put another way — and this is what the play’s theme might be: the powerful must pay obeisance to the less powerful.
