TRUMBULL NEW THEATRE 'Cuckoo's Nest' production draws in the audience

Characters who didn't say much managed to capture lots of attention.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," a disturbing yet funny play set in a mental institution, is filled with so many big messages and social commentary that it would be easy to forget the little details.
Trumbull New Theatre has just opened its production, and before actors even enter the stage, the audience is captured and taken to another place by the reality of the incredible set, the day room of a mental ward. Complete with such things as closed-circuit camera and a magazine rack with battered magazines, the actors can jump right in, because the audience is already there.
The plot centers around the antagonism between the two main characters, the battle of "evil and good" or "control and rebellion" represented by Nurse Ratched and the new resident, Randle Patrick McMurphy, played by wife/husband team of Laurie and Jim McGuire.
At first, Ratched seems like a nice, pretty lady, but by the second act, she has the audience wishing they were holding voodoo dolls in her image with long, painful pins. McMurphy, on the other hand, appears as a foul-mouthed rabble-rouser, but as the action progresses, he becomes the symbol of strength, liberation and authenticity.
Layers and issues
Beneath all that lies layers of subthemes, the issues of the other residents and the political agendas this work suggests, such as "can someone be considered mentally ill just because they don't conform to society?" and "what right does any institution have to manipulate others based on their weakness?"
It wasn't always characters with lots of lines that captured special attention. Gary Roddy played Ruckly, the lobotomized vegetable who hangs on the wall throughout the play. It takes a special talent to maintain a brainless expression for two hours, not to mention that realistic drooling.
Tom Jones, as Martini, brought a very small role into the spotlight, with his hilarious nonstop conversations with imaginary friends. Ben Gavitt was excellent as Billy, the stuttering man who lives in fear of his mother's reprimand. In all, the group of residents, including the three delightful aides and other supporting cast, all deserve applause for their talented contributions.
A big change
The one character who completes a true metamorphosis in this play is Chief Bromden. Beginning as a supposedly deaf/mute hopeless, he is the one person that, in the end, gives purpose to McMurphy's death by taking his energy back out into the world. This difficult role requires a unique person, and Tom Gysegem was magnificent.
There were a couple of scenes in this performance that reached a rare level of perfection. One was the party, in which every detail was played to the hilt: from a drunken Sandy having her skirt tucked up in her underwear after using the bathroom to the wild revelry of the powwow dance, to the entrance of Nurse Ratched, when we felt like the Wicked Witch of the West had just zoomed in on Dorothy and her friends.
The other one was McMurphy's suffocation after his lobotomy. With his eyes blackened and rolled upward, he looked really dead, in a creepy and scary scene that ended this classic and thought-provoking play. It continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and ends on the only Sunday matinee, April 2, at 3 p.m. Many of the performances are sold out, so get your tickets fast. Call (330) 652-1103. The show contains language not suitable for children.