Review of Hauptmann
Hauptman puts the justice system on trial
- Recommended

reviewed by Hedy Weiss
Chicago Sun-Times
2/11/03

One of the most intriguing aspects of theatrical revivals is the way they reveal a play's subtle shifts in meaning and emphasis, as certain elements come into sharper relief and others seem to recede, depending on the particular events and preoccupations of the moment.

TimeLine Theatre's highly polished revival of "Hauptmann," the careermaking 1986 drama by Chicago-based writer John Logan (more recently known for his work on Hollywood films, including "Gladiator") could not come at a more opportune moment, as questions about capital punishment and the serious flaws in our legal system are being examined both in real life and on the stage.

Like "The Exonerated," the current fragmented, documentary-style national touring production that considers the fates of several innocent men and women who were sent to Death Row but later cleared, "Hauptmann" explores a deeply flawed investigation and trial. Here it is the notorious case of Bruno Richard Hauptmann (played by PJ Powers), the undocumented German immigrant who was accused and ultimately convicted of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the 20-month-old baby of Charles Lindbergh (Gerrit O'Neill) and his elegant wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh (the well-cast Tiffany Scott).

In its initial staging, "Hauptmann" seemed to focus more strongly on the media circus surrounding the case, and on the sharp class division between Lindbergh, the world-famous aviator whose solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927 turned him into America's golden boy, and Hauptmann, the ever-struggling immigrant and outsider. And it emphasized the way Lindbergh and his wife seemed as gilded as the film images of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, while Hauptmann and his devoted "frau," Anna (the very believable Pat Teidemann Hofmann), could only dream about such a glittering, privileged existence.

In director Nick Bowling's carefully tuned TimeLine staging of the play—which skillfully reveals the complex, airtight structure of Logan's work—it is the manipulative and highly questionable police work and legal proceedings that stand out most starkly. Yet while the drama plants many doubts about the handling of the case—and leaves you with as many questions as answers—it also makes you think that the authorities may very well have caught the right man, even if several other men (and perhaps a woman) were also heavily involved in the crime.

The play, staged on a compact circle of ascending platforms that makes the audience feel as if it's the jury, unspools through Hauptmann's eyes (and often bitingly ironic narration), as he awaits his walk to the electric chair in 1936. As he looks back on events, we see his life in the hours before his arrest, the strange ransom trysts, his lack of legal assistance during police questioning and the circuslike atmosphere surrounding the trial for what was hyperbolically dubbed "the crime of the century." (There is even a glimpse of the little replicas of the kidnapper's ladder that were hawked outside the New Jersey courthouse where the trial took place.)

In addition, we hear from the slew of less-than-reliable witnesses (all played deftly by Thomas Edson McElroy) who were called to the stand by the hotshot prosecuting attorney Wilentz (precise, dynamite work by Matthew Krause) and supported by the Judge (Bill Bannon). In the process, we also get to know something about the two couples whose fates are irrevocably intertwined. And we get a feel for the temper of the times—the Great Depression at home, the rise of Hitler in Europe, the general fear of immigrants, the superheated newspaper wars.

Although PJ Powers' German accent is a sometimes thing, his quietly shifty, often insolent portrayal of Hauptmann has a fine trapped rat quality, full of ambiguity and self-righteousness. He also neatly portrays his own blusteringly inept and often alcoholic lawyer.

The boldly emblematic set and lighting design by Heather Graff and Richard Peterson, the 1930s period outfits by Nicole Rene Burchfield and the fine sound design by Andrew Hansen all fuel the engine of "Hauptmann." And, in what has become a bonus element of every TimeLine production, there is an exceptionally handsome lobby display that supplies a fascinatingly detailed history of the case.