BWW Reviews: ROCK 'N' ROLL at The Gamm Theatre

Tom Stoppard's drama Rock 'n' Roll, now playing at Pawtucket's Gamm Theatre, is about two of the most exciting developments post-WWII: The generation-defining influence of Rock music and the fall of Communism.

The talented Judith Swift directs a dream-team of Gamm actors including Tony Estrella, Casey Seymour Kim, Karen Carpenter, Steve Kidd, Tom Gleadow and Jim O'Brien. With that story, writer, director and cast...well...you'd think. Right?

Stoppard's narrative follows Jan (Tony Estrella), a Czech student who loves rock 'n roll. We meet Jan while he is studying at Cambridge University during the 1968 Revolution and follow his life through the fall of Communism. Jan has potential to be an influential human rights activist, if only he will embrace his destiny.

Jan's mentor, Max (Jim O'Brien) is a devoted communist. Max believes that the opportunity to work is the lynchpin to a successful society. He is willing to accept limits on personal freedom for the good of "the people".

While at Cambridge, Jan establishes a familial relationship with Max, his wife Eleanor (Jeanine Kane) and their daughter Esme (Amanda Ruggerio). These family bonds, while strained, hold strong through the decades and Jan's return to Prague.

The first act, which runs an hour and twenty tedious minutes, is crammed full of enough plot, narrative and details to support two substantial dramas. Stripped of the superfluous details (including the B-movie accents), there is, undoubtably, an intriguing story.

Act Two (an hour and ten minutes) takes place after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This Act is also bursting with material (necessary and otherwise). There is a dinner party scene that, by itself, is a lovely little piece of theatre.

There are beautiful nuggets of writing in the play: "Policemen love dissidents like The Inquisition loved heretics", "We mass-produce brutality" and "Capitalism does not self-destruct, it adapts." Finding these lovely gems, and others, unfortunately takes panning a whole lot of word gravel.

Rock 'n' Roll is at its essence, a parable. The lesson is lost in the details.

Rock 'n' Roll plays at the Gamm Theatre in Pawtucket, RI through May 30, 2010. Tickets are $28 and $40 and can be purchased by calling 401-723-4266 or by visiting www.gammtheatre.org.

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