The winter holiday period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is perhaps the ideal time to present Robert Anderson’s, I Never Sang for My Father. It’s during this time of year that families can be the most fractious. Anderson’s drama was presented as a staged reading by Milwaukee’s Boulevard Theatre, now in its 39th season.
Under the unflagging leadership of artistic director Mark Bucher, Boulevard Theater managed to survive the 2020 pandemic, a time when several theater companies disappeared from the local performing arts scene. Although Boulevard’s threadbare resources have limited what it can do, Boulevard has managed to create something wonderful. Its recent series of staged readings in the 50-seat back room of a local tavern have become a destination entertainment for a segment of Milwaukee theatergoers.
I Never Sang for My Father follows the journey of Gene, a widowed college professor who must provide for his failing parents while trying to carve out a new life for himself.
The 1968 play had a brief run in New York, and the script was eventually turned into a screenplay. The 1970 film starred Gene Hackman as the son and Estelle Parsons as his sister, a young woman who moved away from the East Coast due to her bigoted father. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards.
In Milwaukee’s more intimate backroom setting, the delicate interplay of relationships comes into full focus. The father is a compelling, complex figure in his family’s life. He earns respect for his career achievements, despite his very troubling personal traits. He often regurgitates the same sad story about his childhood.
In listening to Tom’s background story, one thinks of another father who might fit that description. José Menendez, the man who was eventually killed by his two sons, showed some similarities. Here was also a man who achieved great things in his career but was domineering, controlling (and perhaps perverted) in his personal life.
While Gene, the son in Anderson’s play, doesn’t suffer the physical abuse the Menendez brothers allegedly endured, he has struggled his whole life to create a solid, father-son bond. As Gene, Matt Specht walks a delicate tightrope in dealing with his father (David Ferrie). After watching several scenes unfold, it’s clear that Gene has always been much closer to his mother (Joan End).
The two veteran actors who play the parents do an excellent job conveying the subtle back-and-forth of a long-time married couple. They know when to take a verbal swipe at each other, and when to shield their claws. Joan End is particularly sympathetic as the long-suffering wife who is more concerned about her husband’s failing health than her own.
As the father, Tom, David Ferrie gives one of the best performances of his stage career. Ferrie must travel a huge emotional distance while delivering several monologues. He can start out yelling, only to end with barely concealed tears. Tom likes to dismiss other folks as “bores” without realizing that he is the worst offender. Tom puts his own needs above everyone else’s, particularly his wife’s. While it's clear she would enjoy spending time with friends, her husband won’t hear of it. He is woefully unaware of his own deficits, both emotional and physical.
The family tension goes up a notch when they are joined by Gene’s sister, Alice (Caitlin Kujawski Compton). It’s clear she has never forgiven her father for his past behavior. At the time, Alice moved away, married the Jewish man her father complained about (whom we never meet), and raised a couple of children. As Alice, Kujawski Compton makes it bluntly apparent where she stands in regards to her feelings about her parents.
Although this staged reading lacks some key theatrical aspects, such as costuming, lighting, sets, props, etc., it seems perfectly suited to its intimate venue. For the past several years, Boulevard has offered its shows on a “pay-what-you-can” basis. In this way, Boulevard is keeping theater alive for those who are facing hard times, as well as those who simply want to see a “bare bones” show that focuses on character interaction.
