A Story of Class, Ethics and Romance

Howards End – Remy Bumppo

E.M. Forster’s 1910 literary classic is a sprawling novel about three English families from different social classes. Through this tale, we come to know the wealthy, capitalist Wilcox dynasty; the idealistic, intellectual upper middle class Schlegel sisters; and the ever struggling, financially impoverished lower class Leonard and Jacky Bast. Forster spun a dramatic story of social rank, morals and love. His novel offered an insightful portrait of England at the height of its imperial world influence, in the years just prior to World War I. He showed, through the lives of three diverse families, how fast progress was happening and shaping Edwardian England. Forster seemed to ask, in light of the sweeping changes taking place, who would eventually inherit England? Which class would ultimately define this powerful nation?

Douglas Post’s faithful theatrical adaptation is truly eloquent and makes E.M. Forster’s novel accessible in a two-and-a-half hour production. This is a beautiful, carefully constructed play, commissioned by Remy Bumppo Theatre, and currently enjoying its world premiere at Theater Wit. The script, brought to life through Nick Sandys’ intelligent and clever direction, is sure to become the definitive stage treatment of Forster’s novel.

The story opens at the graveside of the late, beloved wife, mother and friend, Ruth Wilcox. Her family returns inside to the drawing room to reflect upon her life and learn who will receive her personal effects in her will. To everyone’s surprise, Ruth’s country estate, Howards End, has been left to her dear friend, Margaret Schlegel. Because the endowment was scribbled in pencil on a scrap of paper, the family chooses not to inform Margaret and her younger sister Helen of their inheritance. 

Widower Henry Wilcox eventually decides to pay the Schlegel sisters a visit at their London flat, a home he learns will soon be razed in the mass gentrification of the district. Keeping Howards End a secret, Henry offers to help the ladies find a new residence. Fate has led the Schlegel sisters to know Leonard Bast, a lower class worker, who’s barely making ends meet. When Wilcox shares a rumor about the company where Leonard works, the Schlegel sisters try to persuade Mr. Bast to leave his current employment and find a better, more secure job. This advice backfires and Leonard finds himself out of work and without a roof over his head. He and his flirtatious, common law wife Jacky become two more of London’s unemployed, homeless population.

The plot grows more complicated when, despite being philosophical opposites, Henry Wilcox falls in love with Margaret Schlegel. He proposes marriage to his wife’s friend and she accepts. But when the Basts unexpectedly show up at Evie Wilcox’s wedding reception, and Henry recognizes Jacky Bast as his former mistress, his relationship with Margaret abruptly changes. Like an Edwardian soap opera, the story spins forward bringing more surprising developments and complications. By the end, it’s clear who E.M. Forster predicts will inherit England. By using Howards End as a symbol for his homeland, and the intermingling of the Wilcox, Schlegel and Bast families at the country estate as a metaphor for how the English classes were merging, we understand how the author viewed Britain’s trajectory.

The cast is, without exception, terrific. The talented, always captivating Eliza Stoughton once again mesmerizes, this time as Margaret Schlegel. The lovely actress may be remembered for her standout performances in Remy Bumppo’s “Frankenstein,” “Born Yesterday,” “Both Your Houses” and “You Never Can Tell.” Here she commands the stage as the story’s protagonist, a woman who embodies the idealistic and intellectual qualities of the upper middle class. As wealthy businessman Henry Wilcox, Mark Ulrich makes his auspicious debut with this company. Not without charm, he plays his role with the necessary class, stuffy conventionalism and unbridled chauvinism found in the upper classes at the turn of the century.

Heather Chrisler is appropriately passionate, feisty and scrappy as Helen Schlegel. Her passion for art, literature and social change, along with an obsession to help those less fortunate, makes the younger Schlegel sister an especially likable character. Terry Bell, who was such a dynamic cast member in Steppenwolf’s “We Are Proud to Present…” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” is excellent as the downtrodden Leonard Bast. Continually trying to improve himself, Leonard is a reader and shares the Schlegel sisters’ ideology. Jodi Kingsley ably portrays flirtatious Jacky Bast, looking like an Edwardian chandelier in Kristy Leigh Hall’s heavily-embellished costume. 

The other Wilcox family members are each played with individuality and style. As Charles Wilcox, Michael McKeogh is every bit his father’s son, self-centered, pompous and obsessed with material goods. He’s also an aggressive young man who acts before he thinks. Emily Tate supplies most of the play’s humor as his dim-witted, scatterbrained, money-hungry wife, Dolly. As a woman who loves to stir things up by revealing secrets, Mrs. Wilcox is a bit of a loose cannon. Tommy Malouf, a familiar face at Silk Road Rising and the House Theatre, is properly starched and a bit mysterious as younger brother Paul Wilcox. He’s returned from making his fortune in Nigeria, but there’s an air of something unspoken about his affairs there.        

The play’s technical achievements are breathtaking. Although Howards End jumps quickly between a number of houses, flats and landscapes, both in and around London, it spans the years of 1908 through 1910. But scenic designer Yeaji Kim has helped solve the staging problems. She’s created a sparsely furnished, English drawing room box set. Nick Sandys’ creatively-choreographed rearrangement of a few furnishings, performed by his cast, allows the stage to transform instantly into multiple locales. To complete the effect, Ms. Kim covers the floor of her set with both hardwood and grass. She also embellishes her scenic design with an array of ever-changing projections of period paintings and motion pictures, that set each scene and complement Mr. Sandys’ blocking. Mike Durst’s evocative lighting design enhances the impact of Kim’s scenic work; and the sumptuous Edwardian costuming by Kristy Leigh Hall completes the look and feel of this period piece with color and texture.

Remy Bumppo opens its new season with Douglas Post’s splendid adaptation of E.M. Forster’s classic novel. The play explores London’s evolving class system at the dawn of the twentieth century. Presented in a polished, finely detailed production, that’s become the hallmark of this company, this play is expertly guided by the company’s Artistic Director, Nick Sandys. It features an impeccable cast and is ably supported by an army of gifted, unseen theatre artists who flawlessly add their talents to help bring life this drama of class, ethics and romance.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented August 29-October 5 by Remy Bumppo Theatre at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago

Tickets are available in person at the box office, by calling 773-975-8150 or by going to www.remybumppo.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.