I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by playwright Walter L. Newton plays Miners Alley Playhouse through November 13, 2004.

The book by Hannah Green published in 1964, written as fiction, proved to be the real life story of Joanne Greenberg and her four-year struggle with schizophrenia in a mental hospital. Although Newton wrote the script in conjunction with Greenberg and Gail Hornstein, the story presented on stage, directed by Rick Bernstein, doesn’t go far enough exploring the miraculous cure and the high-powered hornets nest controversy stirred with the medical community.

The nitty gritty of Greenberg’s story centers on her psychiatrist, Dr. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann choosing to treat her with intense physiotherapy rather than with drugs. Because of the far-reaching financial implications, the drug companies reacted violently. The controversy continues to swirl, smacking of the tail wagging the dog.

The play produces a brilliant inspired visualization depicting the inner world of Deborah Klein, touchingly played by Karalyn Pytel. Decked in outrageous colorful costumes with face paint, and oversized strangely designed hands, three demons hover around her, with taunting enticement.

Anti-Semitic torment pushed Deborah to create the alternate safe world of Ur. Eventually, the gods of Ur seduced her to relinquish control of her every thought. Clyde Sacks plays Anterrabae, Chris Bleau plays Lactamaeon and Priscilla Young plays Idat. With sedentary choreography designed by Lisa Deutsch, and a brilliant lighting scheme designed by Pytel, their affect charms with reality, believability, and teased taunting. It is difficult to keep th eyes off them even when they are in the background.

Paige Larson plays Dr. Fried with tenderness, compassion, and determination. She knows how to allow inner strength shine through a character. It shows when she treats Deborah eyeball to eyeball, in meeting with the parents, Jacob and Esther (Dale Tagtmeyer and Karen Kargel), and when butting up against her colleagues, represented by Dr. Abraham (Albert Banker).

Some of the strongest moments in the play come between Deborah’s tempered conversations with another patient, Carla Van Pelt (Kellie Rae Rockey). Rockey’s strangle hold on her character immediately reveals the tragedy Carla is headed toward. Insensitive staff view Carla clinically, rather than a human being, Rockey gives us her character’s torment on a silver platter.

An intriguing set, designed by Daniel Lowenstein, creatively fills the demands of short scenes in different locals, even giving the demons a place to seduce, dance and hide.

Although the psychiatric community undoubtedly would respond to Dr. Fried with a high intellectual stance, Banker gives a one-dimensional approach to Dr. Abraham. He conjures the feeling there is no feeling while reading the lines. Part of his predicament rests squarely on his lecture-type fact oriented monologues.

The same can be said for Tagtmeyer and Kargel. Undoubtedly Deborah’s parents went through their own strange turmoiled world. The words were there without soliciting compassionate empathy beyond the boards.

The two speeches at the end by Deborah and Dr. Abraham need to be cut. The story has power standing on its own two feet. The lecturing and preaching coming with the final monologues speaks of desperation to clarify issues. The issues don’t need to be clarified. The story stands on its own straight stilted legs.

I wanted to be grabbed and turned upside down with the power of Deborah and Dr. Fried’s story. There were moments that grabbed, and the story certainly grabs attention, but the overall structure of the play cries for depth, heart and soul.

Conversations between Dr. Abraham and Dr. Fried read as wanting to get information to the audience rather than a power struggle of intense revolutionary thought being exchanged between two skilled psychiatrists. I wanted to see, feel and experience the struggle. I wanted to be knocked out, but barely felt the punch.

Is it worth seeing? You better believe it. It is a new play, a work in progress, crying for rough edges to be smoothly polished. I Never Promised You A Rose Garden is a powerful story begging to be translated into strength, power and conviction with heart-felt emotion nakedly revealing themselves from all characters instead of a few.