Crushing Machinery - MACHINAL Review

Sophie Treadwell’s seminal Expressionist play Machinal is given new life by New York Theatre Company (NYTC) this summer at City Center Stage II. In this production, director Amy Marie Seidel and choreographer Madison Hilligoss have imbued the piece with an almost ceaseless, rhythmic underscoring that haunts the action of this austere play. Hilligoss’ tap-heavy choreography and Brittany Harris’ clever practical sound design evoke the cold machinery of the world that closes in on the Young Woman, the play’s beleaguered protagonist.

Written in 1928, Treadwell writes of a young woman, also known as Helen Jones (played here by Katherine Winter), out of step with the society of her day. She tries to conform to what’s expected of her: she works to provide for her mother (Shelley Mitchell), she marries a man with a lucrative career (Sam Im), and she has a child with him, yet she can’t ignore that roiling intensity within her that longs for freedom. She finds brief solace in the arms of a lover (Soph Metcalf), but she knows that can’t last forever. Eventually, that restless anxiety inside her boils over, culminating in a shocking act of violence.

Hilligoss’ choreography expertly conveys the machinery of the Young Woman’s society at work—whether it be the steady, relentless beat of a busy office or the cacophonous sounds of a city threatening to overwhelm a woman teetering on the edge. It’s not the first time I’ve seen tap dance deployed to ratchet up the tension of a scene, but it’s done well here, if intermittently so, as it disappointingly all but disappears in the second act. 

What’s most effective is how Seidel and Hilligoss have made music, sound, and movement integral to this interpretation of the piece. When the Young Woman’s husband touches her, alarm bells ring out. Conversations happening around her are played as if she’s right there with them, a part of their dialogue. She’s a woman beautifully in touch with the world, which makes her punishment for not conforming to society’s rules all the more devastating. 

The play depicts a society hellbent on punishing women who don’t conform to societal expectations, in which men are rewarded for mediocrity and the law is only there to protect a precious few. That is to say: it’s a society frighteningly like the one we live in today. Seidel has made the intelligent choice of casting a diverse ensemble of cis-, trans-, and non-binary actors. Actors often play across gender, further pulling this prescient play into our modern era. 

Rochelle Mac’s scenic and Colleen Doherty’s lighting design combine to create a sleek, bare, and patently Expressionist environment. 

Treadwell was inspired by the real-life case of Ruth Snyder, who was executed by electric chair for the murder of her husband in 1928, that shocked the nation, yet media frenzy is not at the heart of this stark play. It’s a play concerned with one woman’s attempt to march to the beat of her own drum, rather than the relentless tattoo of society’s machinery.

MACHINAL is at City Center Stage II through July 3rd. Tickets information here.