The Alchemy Theatre Company of Manhattan presents
HAYMARKET
By ZAYD DOHRN
Directed by ROBERT SAXNER
The Beckett Theatre
410 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues)
December 8-23, 2005
Set Design: HEIDI MEISENHELDER
Lighting Design: STEPHEN SAKOWSKI
Costume Design: VICTORIA TZYKUN
Costume Supervisor: GEORGE ALBERTO PIRES
Original Music and Sound Design: HADDON GIVENS KIME
Production Stage Manage: NOEL WEBB
Technical Director: TAD CLAY
Press Representative: KEVIN P. McANARNEY/KPM ASSOCIATES
Media Consultants: ECOMMERCE PARTNERS
CAST
Lucy Parsons.................................SQUEAKY MOORE
Henry Gahagan.............................MORGAN BAKER
Albert Parsons.............................DENNIS McNITT
Mary Catherine Barrett...............BIRGIT HUPPUCH
Carter Harrison...........................D. ZHONZINSKY
Charles Spierling.........................JUDSON JONES
John Bonfield...............................MORGAN BAKER
William Black................................D. ZHONZINSKY
Jenny Hoan...................................BIRGIT HUPPUCH
Daniel Hoan...................................JUDSON JONES
Joseph Gary..................................MORGAN BAKER
Zayd Dohrn’s HAYMARKET is based on an actual bombing that occurred in
1886 at Chicago’s Haymarket Square. Anarchists rallied in support of an
eight-hour day, and when police tried to disperse the crowd, a dynamite-packed
sphere was thrown. Policemen and civilians lost their lives, and eventually
eight of the anarchists were indicted for conspiracy to commit murder. Four of
these anarchists were hung.
HAYMARKET depicts the effects of this event on the lives of hanged
anarchist Albert Parsons (Dennis McNitt) and his wife Lucy (Squeaky Moore). The
story is told through the disturbed and troubled eyes of their daughter Lucy
(Moore), who at the age of eighteen was institutionalized in a mental
institution and definitely paid for the sins of her father. The drama unfolds
through flashbacks and hallucinatory visits from Albert and victims of the
bombing. The storyline is captivating, made more so by the fact that it’s based
on true events. Direction by Robert Saxner skillfully interweaves the many
scenes and different characters so that the tale can be experienced from both
sides, and fabulous costumes by Victoria Tzykun authenticate the time period.
The only thing missing in HAYMARKET is the passion that created the
incident. What caused ordinary men speaking out on behalf of beleaguered workers
to step over the line? You get a hint that perhaps it was a result of an
over-reaction by the police, but not enough of a hint to take sides. And perhaps
that is the intention of HAYMARKET - to present the story equitably so
that one does not have to take a stand. Instead, you are asked to remember that
no participant or observer remained unscathed, and that the suffering was passed
on to their families. Indeed, a victory, like so many of those that shaped our
history, hard won.
- Laurie Lawson -