THEATRE REVIEW: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" at Harold Washington College (Chicago, IL)

     During March of 2012, I saw a performance of the Dale Wasserman play "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" when the Loop Players put on a production of the show at Harold Washington College in Chicago, IL.  I had never seen a stage production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" before.  I had only seen the movie.  The production was not performed in a theatre or an auditorium, but rather a room that looked like it was usually used for college events.  I was taking a community college course at Harold Washington College at the time.  If I hadn't been, I probably never would have seen the play.

     The play starred Joe Faifer as Randle McMurphy and Sidney Hill as Chief Bromden.  Two actresses shared the role of Nurse Ratched.  Their names were Nina Liewehr and Samantha Hermansen.  I don't remember which actress I saw play the part.  Being that I saw this play ten years ago, and I didn't keep the playbill, I have no idea who the scenic designer of the production was.  The scenery stayed the same throughout the entire show.  But it was a decent recreation of a psych ward of a state hospital... I assume.  Apparently Dale Wasserman wrote "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" with a state hospital in Oregon in mind, back then called an asylum, I guess.

 

  

   The World Premiere of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" took place from October 24th through 26th, 1963 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.  In that production (as well as in the pre-Broadway tryout in Boston and the Broadway Production itself), Kirk Douglas starred as Randle McMurphy.   After the play was through with its run at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, the production transfered to the Shubert Theatre in Boston, where it performed from October 28th through November 9th, 1963.  Then, on November 12th of the same year, Dale Wasserman's play "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" performed its one and only preview performance at Broadway's Cort Theatre, prior it its official opening on November 13th.  While the production I saw had starred no actors who were given top billing on any marquee, the cast gave their all, and received a strong round of applause at the end of the show.  It was well deserved.