University of Virginia Library

Busch Lauded

Though not desiring to be labeled
a defender of the faith, I disagree
strongly with Mr. Wells' comments
on the performance of Thomas
Busch in "The Night Thoreau Spent
in Jail." I was also there Monday
night and feel Mr. Busch's presence
alone is well worth the price of a
ticket.

From his first line, a kindly
admonishment to his mother, to his
final departure from the jail, Mr.
Busch leaves you with a sense of
love for Thoreau. You not only feel
the man's kindness, his
individuality, but are assaulted by
his absolute, uncompromising
idealism.

Though Mr. Wells feels that
Busch has not injected enough
emotion into the man, I believe just
the opposite. The test of a fine
performance is its underlying traits.
What can the actor make you feel
just by the mood he creates? Does
he have to cry to make you sad?
Does he have to shout to make you
angry? No. Acting is more than just
proper line-readings. It is a way to
convey your message spiritually as
well as physically. Mr. Busch
fulfilled it, period.

Mr. Wells longs for Thoreau's
love of teaching. Yet I felt the
scene in which Thoreau and Miss
Ellen were together in the row boat
was one of great beauty, due
mainly to a quality which Busch
maintained throughout the evening:
sincerity. It is hard to come by in
amateur acting. In fact, I began to
believe that Mr. Busch was actually
enjoying himself.

I think Mr. Wells expected a
level of intensity that would have
ruined Thoreau's confrontations
with Ellen in the first half and
Emerson in the second. An actor
does not maintain levels. He builds
to peaks and climaxes. Mr. Wells
called these outstanding exceptions
to Busch's "flat performance."
Rather, they were moments when
Busch opened the door and let us
clearly see Thoreau's anguish.

Thoreau is an exhausting role to
undertake. All told, Mr. Busch was
off stage during the entire evening
for probably ninety seconds. He
carried the play and yet did not
belabor the point. For me, his
performance was a source of
inspiration.