“˜American Clock’ portrays hard times
By Daily Bruin Staff
Jan. 25, 2001 9:00 p.m.
Photos by SARAH ZUSPAN Myles Nye, right, plays
the town’s sheriff, among other roles, in Arthur Miller’s "The
American Clock," directed by Gary Gardner.
By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Contributor
Although the end of democracy in America seems unlikely in the
near future, it didn’t always look that way.
For the great American playwright Arthur Miller, the Depression
was a time when the end of America’s reign as a world power
was all too possible.
The UCLA Department of Theater tackles these issues in their
performance of Miller’s “The American Clock: A
Vaudeville.”
“The direction of this play really points to the problems
we’re having right now and the problems on the
horizon,” said Michael Perl who, as one of 26 student actors
filling 69 roles, plays Ted Quinn and two other characters.
A great clock counting off the last moments of the American
civilization represented the fears of the Great Depression for
Miller. The play is not only historically relevant as an
examination of the Great Depression, it takes on added significance
in light of the current economic slowdown.
 (Left to right) Jason Medbury,
Kathi Castoro and Jake Bern star
in "The American Clock." The play opens tonight at Macgowan Hall’s
Little Theater. Miller’s story is adapted from Studs
Terkel’s “Hard Times” but also contains many
elements of Miller’s own experiences as a teen-ager during
the Depression.
The play centers around the Baum family, a counterpart to
Miller’s family, but contains vignettes about various
characters whose lives were permanently changed by the
Depression.
Although the stock market crash of 1929 occurred before most of
the actors were born, it occurred during the lives of their
grandparents, and several still see the effects of the Depression
resonating in their families today.
“I think that my family is still kind of recovering from
it,” said Jeffrey Olin, who plays four characters in the
production. “I don’t think that people recognize the
impact that it had on our society.”
Jake Bern, who plays Lee Baum, Miller’s alter ego, agreed
that its widespread effects have been forgotten.
“If you talked to anyone living in the Depression,
it’s the single most defining moment of their lives,”
Bern said. “My grandpa still eats turkey necks because in the
Depression they ate turkey necks.”
For Gary Gardner, vice chair of the undergraduate theater
program and director of the play, family history played a part in
his choice of “The American Clock” for production.
“(My parents) had to drop out of high school because of
the Depression,” Gardner said. “My mother’s
father went on the road looking for work and never came back, like
the character that Seth (Laursen) plays in the show, Mr. Taylor.
That attracted me to the show.”
The play offers a dichotomous view of the Depression. On one
hand, it portrays life in the 1930s as bleak; however, this image
is contrasted by the play’s comedic elements as well as
several musical scenes featuring songs from the 1930s.
“There’s a monologue in the second act where (Baum)
is talking about poor people in Mississippi and he says, “˜How
do they manage to live?'” said Bern, speaking of the
stark presentation of 1930s life. “I think that has a lot to
do with every character in this play.”
“How do you live when basically the world around you is
crumbling and everything you’ve been taught is to believe in
the world, believe in the government and believe that nothing is
more sacred than the American flag?” he continued.
While the songs often contain gloomy lyrics, they have upbeat
tempos and are set to cheerful music.
“The music that we use in the show ““ and
there’s a good amount of music, is the most optimistic and
happy, uplifting part of the show,” Laursen said.
The comedy also helps to lighten the otherwise ominous mood.
“There are a few really clever and funny parts that Miller
put in there,” Perl said. “How do you cope with such a
horrible time? Sometimes when you can’t cry anymore you just
laugh, and I think that’s what Miller is trying to
say.”
The play also has a political message. During the Depression
many people questioned whether capitalism and democracy were
working. The Lee Baum character even becomes involved with the
socialist movement.
Miller himself was linked to socialism during the 1950s and was
called to testify before the House on Un-American Activities
Committee.
Gardner compared Miller’s questioning of democracy to a
college student being exposed to new ideas.
“There is a youthful knowledge that everything you know is
right, and someday you come to college and go, “˜My gosh,
there are so many new ideas hitting me,'” Gardner
said.
“Miller’s whole flirtation with socialism and
communism attracted me to the show.”
Gardner also said that he hoped this play would bring people
from majors other than theater.
“Students in other departments seem to think that the
theater department is just that weird place up in North
Campus,” Gardner said. “They don’t understand
that theater can and should be part of their lives. I think one of
the reasons that I like this play is that it should excite people
in history, it should excite people in English, it should excite
people in political science.”
Bern said there were other reasons the play would appeal to
students.
“It really is based not just on the American dream but on
the American character,” he said.
“Anyone that comes to see this play regardless of their
race, regardless of their financial background, can relate to what
it feels like to say, have a parent out of work, be struggling to
try to find a job, trying to succeed in a world where it’s
very hard to succeed because everyone wants the same
thing.”
THEATER:“The American Clock:
Vaudeville” plays in Macgowan Hall, Little Theater on Jan.
26, 27, 31 and Feb. 1, 2, 3 at 8 p.m., and on Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. and
7 p.m. General admission is $15; senior, faculty and staff
admission is $10; and student admission is $7. Two or more tickets
are half-price. Visit the Central Ticket Office or call (310)
825-2101 for ticket information.
