Mark on Society
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Mcgivern, Bennett, Wolff
Photo by Alan Naggar
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By Ben Miles
On July 31, 1966, Charles Whitman wrote these words: “I have just taken my mother’s life. I am very upset over having done it. However, I feel that if there is a heaven she is definitely there… I am truly sorry… Let there be know doubt in your mind that I loved this woman with all my heart.”
The next day, shortly before noon, Whitman ascended the clock-tower at the University of Texas. Bent in a posture evocative of Quasimodo, he dollied a crate of firearms and ammunition across campus. When, at last, perched atop the phallic UT tower, Whitman commenced firing his weapons. Ninety-six minutes later, the shooting stopped. Fourteen people died on that sweat-drenched summer afternoon; that’s not counting Whitman’s mother, Margaret, or his wife, Kathy, both of whom he gruesomely murdered in the wee hours of that day—in separate acts.
“Mark On Society”—a Theatre East production at The Lex Theater, in Hollywood, through May 26—is an emotional and revealing docudrama, scripted by Leif E. Gantvoort, detailing those horrific and sadly portentous events. Authoritatively directed by Peter Haskell, the show is presented as a university symposium. We are given a syllabus to the proceedings upon entering the cinderblock auditorium. Archival black and white film-footage is projected for all to witness. We see, in sepia tones, the crowds below the gunman’s rain of bullets; they crouch behind open car doors, women in capris and dresses—men in thin-ties, with and without cowboy hats, some run in terror across the grassy mall.
In a chair, stage left, a man sits; it’s Whitman’s father. He strains to understand. A radiant lady—once a carefree hippie, judging by her slang and attire—enters to center stage. She is one of two pregnant women the sniper aimed for that day. Soon the professor enters, along with a procession of other victims and testifiers. We see the killer; he’s peering down from the tower (production design by Leif E. Gantvoort). He’s clad in a one-piece zipper suit, wearing a bandana, his rifle cradled in his arms, as he blasts away, round after shrieking round.
In a taut ninety-six minute production, we parallel the deadly deeds of that day, as if our time was somehow synchronized with that time, forty-one years ago. In a pitch-perfect ensemble effort, the cast of thirteen conveys the story of this murderous anomaly to full affect. From Carrie C. Ceryes as a doctor assigned to report the grim autopsy data to Martin Rascon and Chad Williams’ intrepid officers’ Martinez and McCoy to Les Feltmate’s laconic sniper—each performer excels in humanizing his or her character(s).
It has been said that to understand all is to forgive all. It is a shock for us to learn that Charles Whitman’s autopsy indicated that he suffered from a cancerous glioblastoma (brain) tumor, which may have instigated his violent eruptions. “Mark On Society” does not ask us to forgive; it does, however, invite us to understand.
Presented at Theater East, 6760 Lexington, Hollywood. For reservations, dial (323) 957 – 5782. or www.411.com/marksonsociety. Thurs-Sat at 8. Closes May 26.
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