[dropcap]N[/dropcap]O wonder Bradley Cooper picked “The Elephant Man” for his return to Broadway. This is a labor of love for the star, who chose it for his acting school master’s thesis and starred in it two years ago at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, in the same production that opened here Sunday night.
From Mark Hamill to David Bowie and Billy Crudup, Bernard Pomerance’s 1977 historical drama has always attracted handsome men who feel they have something to prove. Cooper — once voted the Sexiest Man Alive — may have felt the role of John Merrick would let him show his chops.
It’s a major challenge, and Cooper acquits himself with admirable sincerity.
The real-life Victorian was afflicted with hideous malformations and cauliflower-like flesh, with a “very sickening stench which was hard to tolerate.” No wonder people fled screaming — or worse, beat him
Pomerance’s conceit, unlike the David Lynch film, is to have the role performed without makeup or prosthetics. When we first see our star, naked except for old-fashioned briefs, he slowly contorts himself to evoke the twisted body — shown on slides — of the real Merrick.
Cooper wisely underplays as much as possible, considering the role’s demands: limping around the stage, nearly gurgling his speech. He guides us into Merrick’s thoughts and feelings, giving him unsinkable dignity. Eventually, everybody sees reflections of themselves in the Elephant Man.
“I think him curious, compassionate, concerned about the world, well, rather like myself, Freddie Treves, 1889 A.D.,” says Dr. Treves (Alessandro Nivola), who rescued Merrick from the streets and gave him shelter in a London hospital. It’s there that our uncommon hero flourished, unleashing the dry wit and romantic imagination hidden beneath his grotesque appearance.
The best scenes in Scott Ellis’ polished production are between Merrick and Patricia Clarkson’s Mrs. Kendal, an actress with enough composure to refrain from flinching at his sight. Indeed, she’s genuinely moved by him.
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The ever-fine Clarkson is a marvel of sympathetic restraint. The tender way in which Mrs. Kendal disrobes for Merrick, who’s never seen a naked woman, is one of the most moving moments in the show.
“The Elephant Man” isn’t a great play, especially in the way it openly tugs at the heartstrings. But when it’s performed well, it’s satisfying on a primal level. And yes, it’s OK to cry.
