New play misses powerful opportunity
Strong acting, smooth direction and evocative period design highlight both the strengths and limitations of “Henry Ford’s Model E.”
CATCO production’s new play by Herb Brown is a polished but sad drama about the difficult relationship of American industrialist Henry Ford and his son Edsel.
Brown, whose previous CATCO plays also focused on powerful and famous men, weaves several interesting slices of American history about capitalism, labor unions, war and politics.
The details seem accurate and the profanity-laced dialogue is realistic. But the material doesn’t pay off as powerfully as it should.
The two-act, three-character play, set from 1907 to 1947, strives for Shakespearean tragedy but falls short.
King Lear foolishly gave away his kingdom to his children, but Henry Ford tries to keep his kingdom — only to lose his son.
At the opening Friday at the Riffe Center, the audience initially seized brief chances to laugh —incredulous at the father’s prejudice, reactionary politics and controlling behavior.
As Ford undermines and even humiliates Edsel, the play grows more disturbing and repetitive.
Unafraid to play a hateful character with conviction, Steven Black makes Henry Ford devastating in his arrogance and lack of self-awareness.
Christopher Storer earns sympathy as the longsuffering Edsel, who won’t give up on his father or his heir-apparent job at Ford Motor Co. Overcoming the softness that his dad sees in him, Storer’s Edsel later finds courage amid emotional and physical pain.
Todd Covert exudes deference, distress and quiet sanity as Charles Sorensen, Ford’s right-hand company man.
Dan Gray’s handsome scenic design places a desk and drafting table at opposite ends of a turntable. The costumes, lighting and sound design reinforce the period atmosphere.
Like the turntable that rotates frequently to little dramatic purpose aside from better views of the fine cast, the play keeps circling around its central relationship.
“Henry Ford’s Model E” doesn’t achieve the requisite insight or soul-illuminating closure — aside from death.