Theater review: 'Farm' a hip-hop remix
Robert Hurwitt
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
San Francisco Chronicle

Some versions of Animal Farm are more equal than others. Jon Tracy's hip-hop-infused The Farm is more than equal to the task of bringing George Orwell's anti-Stalinist satire to life in the here and now.

Rap and beatbox rhythms intertwine with gospel and country blues stylings in adapter-director Tracy's "remix" of Orwell's 1945 farmyard parable of the corruption of a popular revolution. The fast flow of percussive rhymed couplets and the energy of the large ensemble in Tracy and movement director Elena Wright's stagings make the Shotgun Players' annual outdoor show exciting and provocative.

No knowledge of the aftermath of the Russian Revolution is required, though, just as with the book, familiarity with Stalin's rise and Trotsky's fate can add to the pleasure. However great his fury at Stalin's perversion of socialism, Orwell didn't let that get in the way of creating a timeless fable. Tracy follows suit, and viewers can fill in the blanks with any of the many derailed popular revolutions ever since.

Some of the novel's details have been changed, and characters and events omitted. But Tracy remains remarkably true to the story and its spirit. If he crams in a little too much, so that the momentum sags a bit in the second act, and sometimes strains syntax for the sake of a rhyme, the large cast in Nina Ball's punked-out animal outfits keeps us riveted.

A forceful Daniel Bruno jump-starts the revolution as the revered boar Old Major, proclaiming egalitarian principles as he's led to slaughter. Then Bruno ascends to the top of Ball's metal shed and scaffolding set to provide percussion commentary on the betrayal of his ideals, as Brent Rose's cynical raven Moses sings of a nonexistent heaven and adds narrative segues.

Chad Deverman and Charisse Loriaux bring the central political conflict to life. As the pigs take command, Loriaux's smart, dedicated Snowball is so consumed with making the liberated farm a success that she doesn't notice how Deverman's Napoleon and his right-hand pig, Squealer (Ruben Oriol Rivera), are jockeying for power.

Rivera captures Squealer's deviousness, though his raps can be difficult to understand. Deverman grows from tentative pushiness through sneaky opportunism to chillingly corrupt arrogance.

Mairin Lee is affecting as Mollie, the conceited, pretty filly who yearns for Moses' promised Sugarcandy Mountain. She and the other horses form the musical and empathetic heart of The Farm, with Stephanie Prentice's touching Clover and Brendan Simon's stolid, full-voiced Boxer wailing soulful gospel as the revolution reverts to the cruelties of farm capitalism. Sarah Mitchell adds a country flavor as the frightened dog Bluebell, whose pups become Napoleon's KGB.

It could still use some fine-tuning, but from its lead pigs to its backup sheep ("two legs ba-a-ad"), Shotgun's impressively ambitious "Farm" is a cautionary tale with showbiz pizzazz.