Review: THE ARSONISTS at Skylight Theatre

Swiss writer Max Frisch’s post–World War II absurdist satire THE ARSONISTS hit Los Feliz like a blow torch, scorching everything in its path. Originally written as a radio play, it then was adapted for both radio and television before debuting on the stage in 1961. It began as a response to the Communists taking over Prague in 1948, and, alarmingly, it is still relevant. Perhaps more than ever.

Brian Wallace plays Gottlieb Biedermann, a businessman living in a  town where arsonists consistently set fire to homes. He is certain such a thing could never happen to him, however, and, of course, almost immediately a homeless man named Schmitz (Trevor Jonathan Lown) appears, ingratiating his way into the house. And Biedermann, despite seeing exactly what is transpiring, finds himself unable to stop Schmitz and, eventually, his compatriot, Eisenring (Liam Rhodes), from taking over. 

The script is smart and cutting and uncomfortable and laugh-out-loud funny. We all know too many people who are actively ignoring the facts of the world, so this cuts very close to home, Biedermann’s “anyone as long as it’s not me” attitude a familiar refrain. Wallace gives an exemplary performance as the stuttering, sputtering, bumbling Biedermann. While you don’t feel sorry for him, Wallace at least makes him and his toxic denial sad versus contemptible, which is a tricky sleight of hand because his actions are contemptible.

The always-good Tessa Auberjonois, as Biedermann’s anxious, fluttery wife, Babette, adds a shimmer of nervousness to the proceedings, and Jazelle Villanueva, as the couple’s put-upon maid, Anna — the only one who can objectively see what’s happening, though no one listens to the help — adds grounded humor. Lown and Rhodes are fantastic, ingratiating and annoying in equal terms. It’s horrifying watching them move in and the educated, well-off Biedermann’s making concessions to all of their bizarre demands. There is also a Greek chorus of firefighters (Flor de Maria Chahua, Molly Kirschenbaum, Seamus Mulcahy, and Moneer Yaqubi) who aren’t particularly necessary. The show, considering it’s 90-minute runtime, still feels a little long.

Director Luke Harlan, in addition to his marvelous cast, employs a stellar crew with terrific costumes by Joshua Quinn, a remarkable bi-level set of the Biedermann’s home by Stephen Gifford, and effective lighting and sound by Jared Sayeg and Drew Ensue-Weinstein, respectively.

But the script is what makes the show land and what makes it timeless. Frisch called THE ARSONISTS a “morality play without a moral,” and that is apt. Aside from Anna, no one in this story has morals, let alone ethics. One could surmise that the show had some influence on John Guare when he wrote the 1990 Pulitzer– and Tony Award winner, “Six Degrees of Separation,” but this is much darker. This isn’t just one Manhattan couple going down, it’s the end of the world, and no one is doing anything about it.

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