"one Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" soars

Rating: 4/4On Nov. 2, the Samo Theatre Department debuted their rendition of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest." They performed five shows, including one exclusively for students and staff. Altogether, the cast and crew delivered a powerful, excellent show.Telling the story of an Oregon mental asylum, the play by novelist Ken Kesey goes into the dynamic between the patients and staff of the institution. A standout of the production was lead Victor Cruz (’19), who performed the role of Randle McMurphy with power and pure, beautiful insanity. Throughout McMurphy’s highs and lows, Cruz maintained the general demeanor of your local neighborhood crazy person, while still diving deep into moments of drama and self-reflection. Although Cruz gave a fantastic performance, many other characters had their moments to steal the show. The explosive episodes of Jackson Gerard (’19) as Scanlon served as some of the best comedic interludes, while the back and forth between McMurphy and Dale Harding (Jordan Hadley (’19)) provided depth by showing the different reasons everyone ended up in the hospital. Although I personally favored the slapstick comedy of falling out of chairs, each character had their own brand of humor. The most brilliant part of the show was its use of humor to hide its darker underbelly, only revealing its darkness in the end, leaving the audience with a feeling of uneasiness throughout, never letting them completely relax. One of the best parts of the show was its staging in the Humanities Center. Even though the fall play typically takes place there rather than Barnum Hall, this show was perfect for the smaller venue. Instead of a giant auditorium where one has to strain their eyes to see the action, the audience was right up close and personal as Nurse Ratched (Natalie Krenik (’20) scowled at the patients. Even in the back row, everyone could see the pain on Chief Bromden’s (Mateen Bizar (’19)) face as he gave his narrations. It felt like the audience was in the hospital, that they were part of the struggle of the patients against the institution that held them. This production was led by Kate Barraza, who has been the Theatre Director at Samo for eight years and the acting teacher for 15. Her experience shows in the work of her students, who combine their immense acting talent with her direction resulting in a great overall performance. I look forward to seeing what Barraza and the Samo Theatre Department can do next.