|
Oxygen by San Diego Repertory Theatre Ever wonder who first discovered oxygen? No, it wasn't the first fish that crawled up on the beach about 350 million years ago. In fact, it wasn't until the 1770's that someone finally discovered what is now the most familiar molecule on earth. But who was it? Antoine Laurent Lavoisier coined the term and described its properties in 1777. But Joseph Priestly published his discovery of the molecule just prior to Lavoisier, although he did not completely understand its properties. And Carl Scheele discovered it before Priestly, but didn't publish his findings. So, once again, who discovered oxygen??? That is what the Chemistry Committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences must determine in their fictional efforts to award the first retro-Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The setting continuously jumps back and forth between 1777 and 2001. As the committee in 2001 discusses the historical evidence, the historical evidence of 1777 is presented on stage. Which, surprisingly, worked fairly well. Clever costuming (Melanie Watnick) allowed the actors to quickly change between their roles as twenty-first century committee members and eighteenth-century scientists, and the story transitioned smoothly between the two time periods. Other features of the script probably still need quite a bit more polishing if the play hopes to attract mainstream theatre fans. Though certainly educational, it could use some better storytelling in places. Oxygen was written by two scientists, Carl Djerassi (inventor of "The Pill") and Roald Hoffmann (a Nobel Prize winner for chemistry). And, in many ways, it shows. There is a a little too much scientific gibberish that only chemists would find understandable, so much so that the attention of the rest of the audience can easily be lost. Also, far too much time is focused on the members of the committee whose characters just aren't very interesting. Although some technical jargon and debate among committee members is necessary, they can both be greatly reduced and still get the message across. That leaves more time for the meat of the story -- the intrigue between the three eighteenth-century scientists and their wives. A story that could be more fully and dramatically developed. Despite that, there are some great scenes and performances that make it clear this play has a lot of potential. Antoine Lavoisier (Randall Dodge) and Marie Lavoisier (Erin Cronican), who usurp the credit for oxygen, make for a fascinating couple. Antoine is a dynamic, fame-hungry scientist. Marie is his cheeky and conniving young wife who is equally ambitious for her husband to succeed. Even to the point of hiding from her husband the letter sent by Carl Scheele describing his discovery of oxygen, written three years before her husband would later "discover" it. The Lavoisiers share many of the best scenes and both turn in fantastic performances. In the most comical scene of the play, Antoine and Marie put on masks and perform a hilarious little skit about the nature of oxygen and why the Lavoisiers deserve the credit for its discovery as opposed to Scheele and Priestly. They also have the most dramatic scenes. Years later, during the French Revolution, Antoine is in prison awaiting his beheading. He and Marie lament their past years of marriage when he was too concerned with his career and she was too concerned with a certain Mr. DuPont, with whom she had a long affair. Later, just before Antoine's execution, Marie writes him a letter expressing how sorry she was for hiding Scheele's letter from him and the reasons she did it. But her apologies are never sent. Doing so would have made the knowledge of the deceit public, and destroyed both their reputations. Carl Scheele (Jeff Anthony Miller) and his companion, confidant, and comforter, Sara Pohl (Jennifer Austin), both play the part of the victimized underdogs very well, certainly gaining the sympathy votes from the audience. Scheele's failed attempt to publish his findings and the "lost" letter sent to Lavoisier have resulted in his losing distinction for his discovery. The couple enjoys a touching scene as they consider what success and notoriety truly mean. The third couple of the group, Joseph Priestly (Lou Seitchik) and Mary Priestly (Diane Addis), suffer mostly from middle-child syndrome. With Scheele being the first to discover oxygen, and Lavoisier being the first to demonstrate its value and stealing all the credit, the fact that Priestly published the discovery in between Scheele's and Lavoisier's work seems a rather pale accomplishment in comparison. Perhaps the writers felt the same way, unfortunately failing to give either character a stronger or more unique personality that would make them stand out further. There was only so much Lou Seitchik and Diane Addis could do with the roles, and they did everything they could to improve them. Hopefully the writers will spice the characters up if they decide to fine-tune this play into a production with more popular appeal. Still, as mentioned before, the play is educational. Not only for the insight into the people who discovered oxygen, but also for the look at the motivations and moral quandaries of scientists both now and then. Rob Hopper San Diego Playbill ~ Cast ~
Mary PriestlyProf. Astrid Rosenqvist: Diane Addis Sara Margaretha Pohl/Ulla Zorn: Jennifer Austin Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavoisier: Erin Cronican Antoine Laurent Lavoisier/Prof. Bengt Hjalmarsson: Randall Dodge Carl Wilhelm Scheele/Prof. Sune Kallstenius: Jeff Anthony Miller Joseph Priestly/Prof. Ulf Svanholm: Lou Seitchik |