by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
"The Elephant Man" is not about John Merrick.
Set in England during the Victorian era, the play confronts the rules of a conservative society.
It opens with Dr. Frederick Treves describing his accomplishments and leaves the audience in anticipation as he says, "I have blessings, or so it seems to me."
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Soon after, Treves discovers John Merrick, a man who suffers from severe deformity and is forced to display himself in a circus as the Elephant Man. Treves cares for Merrick, played by UNM sudent John Byrom, and attempts to incorporate him into society. In doing so, Treves makes discoveries about society and himself.
The character of Treves is played by Michael Dolce. Dolce said the Victorian society isn't much different from our own.
"Everybody is all for marriage," Dolce said. "We have a lot of hypocritical rules, but that is just the way things are we keep telling ourselves. Treves is one of those. He follows the rules, and deep inside he is not sure why."
He said Merrick challenges the rules of society, which in turn makes Treves re-evaluate his own position.
"Merrick comes along and innocently questions these rules," Dolce said. "He takes the unconscious of Treves' mind and puts it in his face. Treves concludes that the structures are completely false and gets angry. The breakdown comes from the recognition of the falsehood. It forces the audience to confront the falsehood as well."
Antonia Cardella-Zehler plays the role of Mrs. Kendal, an actress introduced to Merrick by Treves.
"There is a kind of feminine interpretation," Cardella-Zehler said. "In my opinion, Mrs. Kendal is not a traditional Victorian woman. She is the only one who sees Merrick as a whole man."
After a friendship between Mrs. Kendal and Merrick develops, Treves discovers Mrs. Kendal exposing herself to Merrick and becomes furious.
"The reason women are so important to him is that he is a man," Cardella-Zehler said. "She is the only one who is willing to let him be that. I think that when she shows herself to him, it is about her saying to him,- 'I recognize that you are a man.'"
Cardella-Zehler said Treves becomes angry because he secretly has a crush on Mrs. Kendal.
"This is really not Merrick's story," she said. "Treves is the one who has the growth. He starts as one thing and ends as something else."
Cardella-Zehler said director Robert Johnson wanted to focus on the emotional aspect of the play.
"This show meant so much to him," she said. "He had a clear vision of the world that we would be working in. He's not one of those mechanical directors."
Dolce said Johnson wants the audience to reconsider the social rules that confront them after watching the play.
"He chooses his plays based on emotional relevance to him," Dolce said. "I hope that when the audience comes, they come willing to think about what rules we follow, and come away from it with less willingness to comply with things because that is just the way they are."
