"Cuckoo's Nest' at People's Light

Ken Kesey's 1962 novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a staple in high school English classes, was derived from two major wellsprings of inspiration: Kesey's experiences while working in a state mental hospital, and the celebration of individualism in the works of Beat generation authors like Jack Kerouac, whom Kesey adored.

As it turns out, Cuckoo's Nest was far more versatile than the Beat writers' works in terms of adaptation to other media. The Oscar-winning 1975 film is one of the signature vehicles of Jack Nicholson's career. Less well known is Dale Wasserman's stage version, which People's Light & Theatre Company is reviving as its season opener.

Cuckoo's Nest works well as a play. Most of the action takes place in the day room of a state mental hospital, which provides a suitably claustrophobic setting for the conflict between the steely Nurse Ratched, who runs the hospital, and Randle McMurphy, the rebellious, charismatic patient who's avoided prison by feigning insanity.

The novel was narrated by Chief Bromden, a giant Indian who's been in the hospital longer than any other patient. He's been misdiagnosed as catatonic, though he's actually a mystic. In the book, the Chief serves as a mouthpiece for Kesey's views on the individual's helplessness in an oppressive society. The movie relegated Bromden to the sidelines"“ reportedly the reason Kesey was said to have despised the film. But the interior monologue works much better on stage than it does in film, so the Chief is restored as a major character in this Cuckoo's Nest.

Kesey's tale possesses the kind of strong forward momentum found in the best works of Dickens. In Jackson Gay's production at People's Light, it unfolds briskly and economically, aided immensely by an excellent ensemble cast.

William Zielinski brings a slight suggestion of danger to the likable, reckless McMurphy. Marcia Saunders as Nurse Ratched is an imposing battle-axe, yet she manages to convey the notion that this woman isn't merely a sadist; she honestly believes that her harsh treatment of her patients will benefit them.

Brandon A. Oakes makes an appropriately still and stoic Chief Bromden. As McMurphy's fellow inmates, longtime People's Light company members such as Tom Teti, Mark Lazar and Lenny Haas provide a reminder that theatergoers can always rely upon this troupe for impeccable teamwork.