Lost in history
Playwright Robert Schenkkan has an ax to grind. Unfortunately his weapon, the dull and didactic "Lewis and Clark Reach the Euphrates," needs sharpening.
The time-traveling play, in its Midwest premiere at Infamous Commonwealth Theatre, is an earnest indictment of U.S. imperialism, whose roots Schenkkan traces to the duo's Corps of Discovery expedition (1804-1806) authorized by Thomas Jefferson to map a route to the Pacific, promote commerce and expand "the empire of liberty." Schenkkan's condemnation of flawed American policies certainly resonates. But the playwright tends to overstate his points and reduce most of his characters to stereotypes.
As a result, "Lewis and Clark" comes across as more of a political rant than a finely honed drama.
However, ICT's resolute, passionate production makes up for the script's shortcomings. Well-directed by Chris Maher with a skillfully designed set by Diane Fairchild, it features spirited acting. That's especially true of its hard-working principals Stephen Dunn and Craig C. Thompson, credible in the play's most fully developed roles.
The first act unfolds as a fairly straightforward bio-drama. It begins with Paul Joseph's Thomas Jefferson sending loyal political operative turned explorer Meriwether Lewis (the zealous, ever sincere Dunn) and co-leader William Clark (a nicely skeptical Thompson as a man with a conflicted conscience) off to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. Essentially, they're to persuade the natives to accept American political and economic policies, which unsurprisingly meets with resistance.
The more surreal second act hopscotches among 20th- and 21st-century battlefields and such international entanglements as the Spanish American War, where Lewis and Clark encounter Teddy Roosevelt (a spot-on performance by the bully Kevin M. Grubb) leading his Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. The scene shifts to the Philippines where General Jacob Smith (a chilling, maniacal Joseph) tortures suspected insurgents; then to South Vietnam where President Ngo Dinh Diem (a defiant Allen Hope Sermonia) bows to U.S. pressure in an attempt to shore up his shaky regime.
In Kabul, savvy Ahmed Chalabi (a practiced Carlos Rogelio Diaz) raises the specter of weapons of mass destruction to encourage the U.S. invasion of Iraq. And in Baghdad, where Donald Rumsfeld (Andy Baldeschwiler who plays the stereotype with frosty precision) bullies the cautious Colin Powell (Colin K. Jones) into escalating the war based on the "cooked intelligence" unwittingly supplied by Lewis and Clark, whose sincere efforts have been perverted in the service of a more disturbing, less altruistic mission than the one they embarked upon 200 years earlier.
Ultimately, Clark recognizes the futility of their efforts to bring "peace and prosperity … and the promise of America to the rest of the world."
Lewis, the apologist and true believer, clings to them even as the bitter irony of "mission accomplished" washes over him. Trying to mitigate the carnage he says, "our intentions were good." Problem is, we all know where paths so paved ultimately lead.
"Lewis and Clark Reach the Euphrates"
3 stars
Location: National Pastime Theater, 4139 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago
Times: 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays through May 18
Running Time: About 2 hours, 20 minutes with intermission
Tickets: $15, $20
Parking: Limited street parking; paid lot at 4100 N. Clarendon, one block east of the theater at Clarendon Street and Belle Plaine Avenue
Box office: (312) 458-9780 or www.infamouscommonwealth.org
Rating: For teens and older