The Horn
Review originally printed at The
Daily Herald, April 17, 1998
by John Clellon Holmes
Directed by Ron OJ Parson
THE HORN IS A BRILLIANT AND JAZZY PORTRAIT OF BE-BOP AMERICA
I had a teacher in college who used to argue that all novels written by
Americans were novels about America. Even if the stories focused lightly
on one character. and even if that character was living far from the
continental United States and had no intention of ever returninq home,
that novel was about America - about our hopes, and our dreams and our
many attempts to create a new civilization in the New World.
This pattem may not fit all writers equally well, but it certainly
applies to THE HORN, by John Clellon Holmes. The 1958 novel begins as a
series of beautifully written vignettes about the various jazz musicians
in and around New York City, but ends up being a panoramic portrait not
just of the whole Be-Bop Jazz Era, but of America in the years just before
and after World War II.
Holmes accomplishes this by following one man, a once great and still
legendary saxophonist, Edgar Poole, a character loosely based on Charlie
Parker and Lester Young, as he wanders through the New York night looking
to beg, borrow, and steal some money for (he says) a bus ticket home. We
quickly learn that Poole, an ex junkie, pothead, and confirmed alcoholic,
is more likely to blow the money on booze and dope.
As Poole shambles along, Holmes shows us the various people in his life
- the jazz singer he elevated to stardom, the musician who watched Poole
emerge as a legend, the accompanist who happened to be present when Poole
recorded his masterpiece. These characters in turn provide quick portraits
of Poole on his way up - learning his craft, mastering the saxophone,
joining a handful of others to develop the sound that would be called
Be-Bop. Then they show him on his way down.
The book is such a wonderful read, I wondered how anyone could
translate this story and Holmes' rich, poetic narration to the stage. City
Lit's house adapter, Mark Richard, has tackled some difficult writers in
the past, most notably the poetry of Raymond Carver and the film noirish
detective story, The Little Sister, by Raymond Chandler. And Richard has
always proven himself a sensitive and intelligent adapter, eager to
preserve as much as he can in the difficult transition from page to stage.
In adapting THE HORN, Richard outdoes himself. Taking an intentionally
fragmented novel, full of flashbacks and digressions but without much of a
plot, Richard manages to fashion a moving two-hour play that doesn't
slight either Holmes' devastating portrait of Edgar Poole or his panoramic
view of Be-Bop America.
Richard does this by introducing a bearded, beatnik narrator - an
inside joke, since Holmes was associated with the Beats and wrote the
first Beat novel, Go. This narrator helps the audience follow Poole's
story by setting up scenes, introducing characters, filling in the gaps
that are inevitable when you try to squeeze a three hundred-page book into
120 minutes. Richard's narrator also is entrusted with delivering Holmes'
long passages of wonderful jazz-like narration - something Ron Wells, who
plays the narrator, does with disarming ease.
Not that Richard deserves all the praise for the show's success.
Director Ron OJ Parson deserves some of the credit for filling this play
with such a capable cast, led by Victor J. Cole, who succeeds in
portraying Edgar Poole both as a grumbling, stumbling bum and a great
artist.
Likewise, the actress and singer known as Maia conveys the full range
of Geordie, a iazz diva who, like Billie Holliday, was addicted to heroin,
but who licked her habit only to find that Poole, her lover, liked her
more when she was messed up. (I have to admit I feel odd singling out
performers in a show with so many outstanding performances -- and no bad
ones.)
More importantly, Parson never loses sight of Holmes' twin goals -
portrait and panorama. He fashions a production that shows us both the man
and his times. If you don't leave this play knowing a little more about
Be-Bop and America and all that jazz, then you haven't been listening.
Those who love jazz, will appreciate the jazz combo Parson has placed
on the second story of Rob Martin's complicated, fascinating set. This
combo plays throughout the show, providing the music Poole and his cohorts
create. They also perform a short jazz set before each act.
Even if Richard's adaptation had been a failure, this jazz band alone
would have made the trip to the theater worthwhile.
-- Jack Helbig
