The Docudrama Comes Alive In ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVEN BEEN? — Review

The strongest scene of Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? arrives in the first fifteen minutes of this highly scholarly, sporadically moving revival. 

Aside from some quick preamble, Eric Bentley’s 1972 docudrama account of the House Un-American Activities Committee opens with the testimony of actor Larry Parks. A popular star at the time, Parks was the first major Hollywood player to appear before the committee. In many ways, his 1951 testimony tells the whole story. 

A desperate Parks, portrayed in the current cast by T. R. Knight (some roles rotate between “guest stars”), pleads with the committee to not compel him to “name names”—that is, to list other artists who attended Communist meetings in the 1940s. 

“I do not refuse to answer,” Parks says shakily, every word drawn from his real testimony. “But I feel that this committee is doing a really dreadful thing that I don’t believe the American people will look kindly on.” 

But the committee—a witch-hunt as farcical as it is chilling—proves unwavering. And in the end, Parks does give in. As he lists off names, Knight seems to deflate before our eyes, devastated both by his own weakness and the profound injustice of the moment. (Parks’ career, we are told, never fully recovered.)

It is a powerful opening salvo, performed with equal precision by the trio of actors representing the committee: a steely Jason Babinsky, a sardonic Adam Kantor and a slimy Michael McKean. All three are part of the permanent cast in director Anna D. Shapiro’s austere revival, now at New York City Center through August 2. Alongside them as regular cast members, and all superb as in multiple roles, are Frederick Weller, Brooks Ashmankas and Steven Boyer—the latter’s subtle impression of Jerome Robbins is an especial highlight. 

But the effectiveness of the Parks scene also creates a problem: Bentley’s point has been made. The remaining 90 minutes are spent mostly repeating that same point, through several more sets of testimony. All are fascinating from an intellectual standpoint, but the overall format proves dramatically limited. 

This is despite the best efforts of an exciting new round of guest stars, who, like Knight, all joined the show on July 13. Norbert Leo Butz and Bob Odenkirk both filibuster amusingly as Abe Burrows and Lionel Stander respectively. And Harry Lennix is stirring as Paul Robeson, managing through gravitas alone to turn the tables on the committee. (The less said about Molly Ringwald’s attempt to channel Lillian Hellman, the better—but it is a brief cameo.) 

Yet by the time Robeson arrives to stir things up, it’s too little too late. We fully understand the maddening injustice of this historical moment and appreciate its resonances with our current political circus. The case is closed, and we’re ready to adjourn.

Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been? continues at New York City Center through August 2.