Faust - Part I and II

That's right, Kevin and I experienced 6 hours of Faust last week over two days at Classic Stage Company. Funny thing is, we actually saw Part II before Part I, and I believe I liked it better this way.

For those of you out there who are intimidated by Faust, I am certainly among your ranks. Going into this production, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into. I'd heard that this was one of the rare times that both parts of the play were being performed, seemingly because it's quite complicated to stage. CSC and Target Margin have both done a great job in bringing the story to life. The cast is young and vibrant and the depth as well as shock-value (for the time period it was written) of Goethe's writing really comes forth.

The plot outline is long and convoluted but here goes - Faust is a doctor who is dabbling in black magic. The devil has made a deal with God to have his way with Faust and try and tempt him. So enter Mephistopheles (or Mephisto), the devil, into Faust's study/work room. Faust consents to the devil's deal, and the two of them begin a series of wild travels. The highlights in part I are Faust's love and seduction of Gretchen - a pretty, God-fearing teenager. The two fall in love, and Gretchen become pregnant. Faust is whisked away by Mephisto (the Devil) to a crazy event called Walpurgis night. Faust comes back and finds Gretchen is in a prison cell for having murdered her mother and their child. He's devastated and struggles to convince her to leave with him. Mephisto interferes and just as the act ends Gretchen calls out "I am saved," reminiscent of the how the entire play ends.

Part II is quite a bit crazier. Faust and Mephisto begin in the emperor's court where Faust solves the emperor's huge conflict by creating paper money. Helen of Troy and Paris appear, at which point Faust falls in love with Helen. Complications, of course, ensue, and Helen vanishes when Faust tries to reach out for her. A brief interlude with a test tube baby, Homunculus, is quite hilarious. Next, Helen re-appears later in the plot at which point Faust and Helen have had a child, Euphorion. This child procedes to throw himself off of a cliff and as he dies, Helen again disappears. Walpurgis night happens once more and Mephisto leads Faust into more craziness. Time goes on and Faust is growing old. As an old man, Faust becomes blind and eventually passes away. The ultimate struggle at this point is his future and if he will end up in heaven, or go to hell with Mephisto. Finally, after this struggle, Faust makes his way upwards to heaven and Mephisto slumps over in defeat.

Well, I bet you're wondering about the actors. For the most part, I thought this was a really strong cast. I happened to love David Greenspan as Mephisto. He had the most impeccable comic timing, and even though he was a small guy, he projected a sense of pure evil when he was on stage. The woman who played Helen was also quite good- young Faust as well. Generally, it seemed as though the cast seemed to really like each other and that made for some great chemistry on stage. The props, although seemingly a bit juvenile, worked quite well. There were hundreds of different items brought on stage through both parts of the show, and they were a nice touch. Very nice job of pacing by the director, David Herskovits.

All in all - I don't have anything to compare this to, but I am willing to say this is one of the best performances of the entire Faust drama that has been staged, especially being able to relate to it as a twenty-something. It's only running until the end of May, so try to make it to CSC if you can.