By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — What is the value of a human life? … For most of us, that’s a rhetorical question. But ask an insurance actuary, and you’ll get a figure. That’s the nature of the business.
Such cold calculations can lead a cunning mind to find a way to profit from death. Add a lover and you’ve got a motive for murder.
Double Indemnity is a crime novel by James M. Cain turned film noir classic. David Pichette and R. Hamilton Wright penned the stage adaptation now playing at the Globe in the Sheryl & Harvey White Theatre.
We walked into the White Theatre to the sound of a pouring thunderstorm. The staged was boxed in by thin screens onto which fog is projected to give it that “dark and stormy night” feeling.
Walter Huff enters wearing a mac. He breaks the fourth wall and talks to us in the classic noir deadpan. It’s a dark and cynical voice that has had all hope and joy sucked out of it. Thus, Huff gains our sympathy and makes us accessories to his crime.
The moment Huff meets “Mrs. Nerlinger,” a rich man’s trophy wife, the chemistry is palpable. Listen with an attentive ear. On the surface, they’re innocently talking about “insurance”, addressing each other “Mr. Huff” and “Mrs. Nerlinger.” But every line has a double meaning and the hunger in their eyes says it all.
Angel Desai’s Phyllis Nerlinger is like a jungle cat, alluring and dangerous. She moves lithely and watches her prey, waiting for her moment to pounce. We want her, but we know we dare not trust her.
Michael Hayden has a fine line to walk as Walter Huff, sexy enough to play a leading man, yet Average Joe enough to work as an insurance man. Handsome with manly, square features and piercing eyes, Hayden leans more to the former.
When we meet the husband, Murphy Geyer gives us a gruff and arrogant Herbert Nerlinger. Being an oil baron doesn’t endear him any, but we don’t want to watch him DIE.
Megan Ketch walks her own fine line as the daughter, Lola. Tall and sexy, yet enticingly young and vulnerable. There is an ongoing cat-fight between daughter and step-mother. But as the old song goes, “Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets.”
The murder scene is INTENSE. I won’t reveal how, but the whole house was riveted.
Once the murder is carried out, Huff and Phyllis realize that there’s a big difference between plotting a murder and committing one, between wanting each other and having. As they beheld the forbidden fruit on the branch, it looked good to eat. But the juice quickly turns bitter in their mouths.
There’s an uneasy twisting of our emotions. Because Huff invites us into his conspiracy, a part of us is on his side. But the other side, the part that demands justice, enjoys watching his “perfect crime” fall apart.
Huff doesn’t count on Keys (also played by Murphy Guyer), a hard-nosed insurance man who sniffs out a murder on experience and instinct. Guyer’s portrayal of Keys was the most genuine character in the story and ultimately the hero.
Vayu O’Donnell is odious as the insurance boss, Norton. A versatile character actor, O’Donnell also plays Nino Sachetti, Lola’s hot-headed lover and Jackson, an annoyingly chatty witness on the train. Norton, intent on covering his “assets,” will say anything to get out of a pay-out. This is terribly accurate. A well-known insurance magnate once said, “If we don’t have at least five new lawsuits a day because we’re not paying out, then we’re not doing our jobs right.”
Double Indemnity is like a double-shot of espresso: hot, black and bitter with a swift wake-up kick. Hats off to Director John Gould Rubin for putting together such a tight ensemble. The patter and action were very well paced and stayed true to the genre. The small stage in the round was very well used with minimal set pieces and props.
Kudos also to Scenic Designer Christopher Barrecca who created a “magic sofa” that turned into a car seat and was flipped over to become a bed, a train station platform and a hospital bed. I should also tip my hat to Lighting Designer Stephen Strawbridge for using screens to project the fog and smoke instead of using a fog machine, which can be annoyingly noisy.
Kwan-Fai Lam composed original music that captured the drama. Dark and moody with moments of gripping intensity, the music swept right into the whirlpool.
The show reminded me of an old Yiddish proverb: If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans. Huff and Mrs. Nerlinger thought they had hatched “the perfect crime”, but it’s probably no spoiler to say that Hashem has the last laugh and justice is served. Noir looks at the world through a dark, cynical lens. All of the characters are selfish and there isn’t a mensh in the pack –with the possible exception of Keys, the only one to pursue what’s right and not what’s his. We all live in a broken world. Some people want to keep it that way.
If you’re tired of the usual summer fare of sweet romantic comedies, Double Indemnity has already been extended through Sept 1st. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org or at the box office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.
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Tauber is a freelance writer based in San Diego. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com