Very senior citizens remember first-hand the relentless accusations and smug posturing of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during the late 1940s and early ‘50s; the rest of us are left with archived films of Joe McCarthy-led anti-Communist inquisitions capturing the excruciating Senate interrogations firsthand. Today, as we wrestle with a fresh surge of virulent witch-hunts splattered across CNN and social media, the flesh-and-blood dynamic of Off-Broadway’s excellent revival of Eric Bentley’s 1972 Are You Now or Have You Ever Been, is less history lesson than cautionary tale ignored.
ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN, Jason Babinsky, Michael McKean, and Adam Kantor, photo by Marc J. Franklin.
A docudrama comprised exclusively of transcripts from the original hearings, the current production features a rotating cast of noted actors portraying past artists who were called before HUAC. (FYI: testifying through August 2nd are, among others, Norbert Leo Butz, T.R. Knight, Harry Lennix, Bob Odenkirk, and Molly Ringwald).
ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN, Thomas Sadoski, photo by Marc J. Franklin.
Flashbulbs, double-breasted suits, swirls of cigarette smoke, the clack of vintage typewriters…all set the stage for past luminaries—journalists, performers, dramatists, directors, activists—to be grilled, accused, and verbally assaulted by the committee. Some responses are flip and funny; others defiant; still others speak with voices filled with apprehension, anxiety, and fear. All, I promise you, are compelling.
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been is playing through September 11th at New York City Center Stage I, 131 W. 55th St., areyounowplay.com.
Additional guest stars after August 2nd: Santino Fontana, Steven Pasquale.
