Man Is Man

Man Is Man"Can it really be done?" inquires a soldier. "Changing one man into another?" It can, and it is, in the inventive production of Man Is Man, performed at the Here Art Center by the Elephant Brigade. The anti-war polemic, written by Bertolt Brecht, tells the story of Galy Gay, a mild-mannered porter who, on the way to purchase a fish for dinner, is tricked into assuming the identity of a soldier and joining the military. Originally courted to fill in for a missing soldier and help a regiment avoid punishment from their brutal leader, Gay performs the task successfully. But then he does not leave. Unable to stand up for himself and incapable of saying the word no, Gay quickly denies his wife, abandons his identity and develops a fierce love for violence and battle. The transformation appears to be complete.Staged in the Here Arts Center, the performance utilizes various forms of multi-media, including audio and video recordings and the use of plastic toy pieces to resemble battle. The result is both intense and impersonal, with close-up visions of the actors' faces distracting from the actual action taking place on the stage. Featuring a spirited cast, with a gravely grounded performance by Natalie Kuhn as Galay, the show is eerily effective in delivering the multiple messages about identity, community, and war. Wide-eyed and soft-spoken, Kuhn's Gay is quite eager to help the soldiers – and to stay with them even when his initial favor is completed. After entering battle, he quickly becomes the ideal soldier – fierce, blood-thirsty and taking no prisoners. One wonders why he was so quick to shed his former identity. The effect is almost that of brainwashing.Man is Man was originally written in 1924, when Brecht had hoped to put the apparatus of theatrical production to a new social use. Now, more than 80 years later, after The Manchurian Candidate has been made – and remade – and stories of waterboarding at Guantanamo Bay flood the media, the play is still alarming in its effect. The euphemisms that accompany battle talk in the soldier's conversations are nothing short of chilling. After facing war, are these people still men? If not, what are they? Brecht asked the question almost a century ago, but we still don't have the answer.