Bringing 'Confederacy of Dunces' alive onstage
Can a famous novel that elicits 鈥淚 love it!鈥� shouts from some and 鈥淚 don鈥檛 get it鈥� shrugs from others become a hit play? Especially when its story is more about exploring eccentric characters and wandering weird narrative cul-de-sacs than clearly getting the plot from Point A to Point B?
Boston鈥檚 Huntington Theatre Company is finding out. From聽Nov. 11 to Dec. 20聽鈥淎 Confederacy of Dunces,鈥� based on the 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by John Kennedy Toole, is inviting audiences to explore the world of a menagerie of oddball characters inhabiting New Orleans鈥� French Quarter. The casting of Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson on NBC鈥檚 鈥淧arks and Recreation鈥�) as the lead character, Ignatius J. Reilly, does add a note of familiarity for audiences. But as Ignatius he鈥檚 hidden inside a fat suit 鈥� and bringing to life a not-so-lovable character.
Ignatius is 鈥渢he guy you want your audience to hold onto,鈥� says director David Esbjornson, explaining one of the challenges of mounting the play. 鈥淗e鈥檚 also an incredibly funny character.鈥�
Jeffrey Hatcher, the playwright who adapted the book for the stage, says one key was finding an analogue for Ignatius in the world of theater. Commentary on the novel has compared Ignatius to Shakespeare鈥檚 Falstaff and Cervantes鈥� Don Quixote. Mr. Hatcher even sees a bit of the outlandish Sheridan Whiteside from the classic 1939 play 鈥淭he Man Who Came to Dinner.鈥�
Reviews of the play have generally effused over Offerman鈥檚 tragicomic performance while called the production as a whole 鈥渇lamboyant, overstuffed鈥� and 鈥渁t times, fascinating and fun.鈥�
Hatcher says he read the book 鈥渁 couple of times,鈥� making notes (鈥淐an use this鈥�) and circling passages. Then he set it aside, knowing that the play needed a life of its own.
He realizes some fans of the book may be dissatisfied with his adaptation. He has a ready answer: 鈥淕o [re]read the book. It鈥檚 still there.鈥�
The 鈥淒unces鈥� book 鈥渋s near and dear to me as a lifelong weirdo and fan of the counterculture鈥�,鈥� says Offerman, who is best known for his TV work but also has long experience doing live theater in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
The prospect of playing a sometimes obnoxious character doesn鈥檛 bother him. 鈥淪ince I wasn鈥檛 born cute,鈥� he says, he鈥檚 often been cast as unsympathetic characters who 鈥渁t first glance, don鈥檛 have an attractive facade.鈥�
The key for him is that 鈥渢he character is very well drawn鈥� in the book, Offerman says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to understand where he鈥檚 coming from and why he is this way.鈥�
Beneath Ignatius鈥檚 comic excesses 鈥渢here鈥檚 also a more delicate and sad little story inside,鈥� adds director Esbjornson. 鈥淲hat makes a person be like this? What creates this individual?鈥�
"Confederacy of Dunces" is off to a fast start at the box office. On Nov. 18 the theater announced that it had already become the second-highest-grossing show in the company鈥檚 33-year history, with four more weeks of performances still ahead.
Along with adapting an iconic book into a play, Huntington Theatre is facing another challenge: potential homelessness. Boston University, which owns the building that houses Huntington鈥檚 main stage, has announced that it is selling the property. Huntington is attempting to find a new partner or partners in order to buy the building, which is also in need of costly renovations.
Some 130,000 people are expected to see Huntington shows this season at both its main stage and at its smaller second stage, the Calderwood Pavilion, located several blocks away in Boston's South End neighborhood.聽
[Editor's note: The original version聽misstated the number of people expected to see productions at the Huntington Theatre this season.]
