Kelly Doherty Balances Dichotomies in 'The Handmaid's Tale'

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Photo by Reconstructing Grimm

My wife and I have the same criticism of the overall premise of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The overall premise of the dystopian novel seems to be ignoring the central force at the heart of hundreds of years of politics in the United States: money. A totalitarian, male-dominated Christian theocracy simply isn’t economically viable in a nation so obsessed with cash and profit. Granted, there ARE those who would wish to return to the days of women as property, but the market simply would not allow 50% of its consumers to be shoved into the shadows. It would upset our money far too much to ignore half the population of the national market. We in the U.S. do not want to upset our money. We simply couldn’t stand it if our wallets were ashamed of us.

Of course, the criticism outlined in the above paragraph is missing the entire point of Margaret Atwood’s novel and it IS an important one. We are still very, very far away from equality between men and women in this country and it wouldn’t take much for things to drift off into a much more unenlightened policies. The human element of gender bias is explored in heartbreaking depth in the World’s Stage Theatre’s staging of Joe Stollenwerk’s stage adaptation of the classic 1985 novel.

In an intimate studio theater beneath downtown Milwaukee, Kelly Doherty plays a handmaid in a male-dominated military dictatorship which forms part of what had once been the U.S. There draped in shadows carved into the basement by lighting designer Alan Piotrowicz, Doherty’s story resonates into a listless, dramatic life. Doherty is draped in simple reds that have been cleverly crafted by costume designer Liz Shipe. Doherty brings a restless, resigned exhaustion to the stage as she tells an uneasy story about life in the shadow of oppression.

The play is well over two hours long. Doherty is the only one onstage. She’s telling a very, very long story in character onstage. To her credit, Doherty is really, really good at telling a story. Other actors might be tempted to try to get really flashy about playing the numerous characters in the story. Like any other one-performer show, this IS an excellent opportunity for any actor to show-off. Doherty seems to respect that the story is the most important thing about the show and she’s brilliantly compelling about bringing it to the stage with heart, humanity and a respect for human tragedy.

Director Gretchen Mahkorn has everything assembled quite well for the production. With one actor and one script, the desire to overload the staging with various other little atmospheric elements must have been  kind of overwhelming. Mahkorn has brought nothing to the stage that hasn’t been absolutely essential to telling the story. A lot of the success here lies in simply having enough faith in a remarkably talented actress to be able to grab an audience’s attention and tell an emotionally compelling story. Video of current idiotic misogyny bleeding through cable via Fox News and Pat Robertson seems a bit unnecessary, but I understand the desire to remind audiences that the story comes from a very real place that’s lurking around in plain sight.

The production may not do anything to make Atwood’s novel seem any more compelling to me, but it IS a very visceral experience between one actor and one audience. Doherty is carefully poised between vulnerability and strength. The line between outrage and submission is very clearly delineated in her portrayal of a woman trying not to collapse beneath the weight of a world and a life over which she has so little control. Doherty is an incredible talent onstage. It’s great to see her get this kind of opportunity.

The World’s Stage Theatre’s production of The Handmaid’s Tale runs through March 29 at the Underground Collaborative on 161 West Wisconsin Avenue. For ticket reservations, visit handmaidmke.bpt.