University of Virginia Library

Weak Henry

I am not certain just how serious
this script problem is, for it is
compounded by several production
flaws, the most critical of which is
Thomas Busch's portrayal of Henry
during the first act. He simply falls
to ignite the spark in Thoreau's
character. He speaks far too many
of his lines in a monotone and
doesn't inject enough emotion into
the man. Some of the speeches
which Lawrence and Lee have
written for Henry are poetic,
lyrical, and capable of creating
theatrical magic, but Mr. Busch's
delivery makes most of them fall
flat. The one outstanding exception
to this is when Henry is describing
the details of his brother's death to
a girl for whom they shared a
mutual affection (a rather nebulous
character whose significance in
Henry's life is never adequately
explained), and Mr. Busch captures
the spirit of the man and the
emotional fury of the moment.

He has other such moments,
mostly in the second act. His
characterization strengthens as the
play progresses and by the time he
has his big confrontation with
Emerson, he is in fine form. But
this is late in the evening, and,
other from making Henry a
sympathetic character from the
start, Mr. Busch has made us wait
an uncomfortably long time for
Henry to come to life, so we can
take an interest in him. If only
earlier he could fully convey the
joy Henry finds in teaching or the
anger that flies into him whenever
anyone makes a statement with
which he strongly disagrees.