"Good Woman of Setzuan" cast: Peter Hertzgaard, Wendy Salkind, Dennis Marsico .
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Thus Brecht, the unorthodox Marxist, is making a leftist critizue of liberal philanthropy and welfare. Such piecemeal handouts only cause the poor to fight with each other for a chance at bare survival. And the other side of the seeming generosity practiced by Shen Te is the exploitive profiteering practiced by Shui Ta. In such a dog-eat-dog environment, religious notions of good must take a back seat to survival. .
"I'd like to be good," Shen Te tells the gods, "But there's the rent to pay. I'd like to honor my father and mother, and speak nothing but the truth, and not covet my neighnor's house. I should love to stay with one man. But how? How is it done? Even breaking a few of your commandments, I can hardly manage. Everything is so expensive; I don't feel sure I can do it!" .
"That's not in our sphere," retorts one god. "We never meddle with economics." .
In the UMBC Theatre, the deities stroll single-file across a wooden footbridge at the far rear and are silhouetted against a pale, blue-lit screen. Thus they seem distant and other-worldly. The stage, every bit as wide and dep as the seating, is filled with a marvelous set by Gavin Holmes. Three buildings are pock-marked stucco and tiled pagoda roofs surround a large, wood chip town square, where the villagers literally grovel in the dust. .
Wendy Salkind's performance as Shen Te and Shui Ta holds the show together. As Shen Te, she meekly shuffles across the square and addresses the audience directly. She plaintively pleads for help in her conflict between goodness and survival. As Shui Ta, she struts about, gruffly offering her neighbors take-it-or-leave-it deals. Though Ms. Salkind is solid, she fails to capture the romantic impulsiveness behind Shen Te's generosity and her infatuation with Yang Sun, a handsome scoundrel.
