Yeah, Funny Rain Man, Brilliant Show.
Rain Man - Hamburger Kammerspiele, Hamburg, 21st April, 2013
March or April 1989, I cannot recall too well when exactly, an early teenager went to the cinema after school with her then best friend to see the latest Tom Cruise movie they both loved then not really knowing what to expect from it.
Both left the cinema with puffy eyes as so moved by what they had just seen - a movie so touching and moving with a just incredible Dustin Hoffman.
Nearly 20 years later a stage adaptation became real, unfortunately as the London production was postponed a few years ago I missed it, so when the Hamburger Kammerspiele announced it would be on 24 years later after I saw the movie, the day the tickets went on sale, I booked mine for the premiere.
Cast:
Stefan Haschke -Charlie Babbitt
Benno Ifland - Raymond Babbitt
Klaus Falkhausen - Dr. Bruner
Jessica Ohl - Susanna (though in play called Susan)
Meike Harten - Iris/Sally Dibbs/Lucy (employee of Charlie - instead of Lenny)
Ole Schloßhauer - John Mooney/Dr. Marston/Police Officer
Adapted from the Oscar-winning film for the stage writer Dan Gordon sticked rather close to the movie telling of Charlie Babbitt, a self-centred automobile dealer and hustler from LA, who is at the point of losing everything when he learns of his father’s death.
So he is off to Cincinatti for the funeral with his girlfriend Susan expecting, as he thinks he is an only child despite leaving home on bad terms while still a teenager and never patching things up, to inherit everything his father left behind, but he faces the news that his wealthy father has left him only his 1949 Buick and his roses, items Charlie despises, and that he has left all his money to someone else not named in his will.
Charlie is understandably angry feeling that the money belongs to him.
He then discovers that his father has left the money to his older brother Raymond – a brother he never even knew he had - and who is autistic living in a home for the mentally disabled.
Determined to get half of his father's inheritance Charlie more or less kidnaps Raymond intending to take him to Los Angeles where he hopes a court will award him his share.
Susan had accompanied but when she learns of Charlie's plans she leaves him with Raymond alone.
As Raymond, when Charlie and him are to take a flight to LA, freaks out citing airline statistics Charlie is forced to drive all the way. In the course of a bumpy roller-coaster across the country journey Charlie however learns to love his brother, becomes somehow attached to him despite the extreme frustration of trying to connect emotionally (especially after learning that Raymond is the "Rain Man" whom he vaguely recalls from his toddler-hood and always thought his secret friend was not real) with his brother dealing with his dysfunctions and his extraordinary skills which eventually help Charlie to save his own business and have a chance to change his own life to also become a better and maybe wiser man in the end. He especially realises that his brother needs the kind of care Charlie cannot provide as much as he wants his brother to stay with him. So he lets him go and agrees that Raymond returns to the care home.
The major difference between the movie and the stage version is that while the movie is a "road movie" type one the play it nearly a chamber play told in an episodic mode. The scenes seem to be an American motel odyssey including ending in the gambling halls of Las Vegas and meeting various random people when travelling to L.A. creating a completely different atmosphere.
With none of the exterior road trip shoots the play looses the movie's pathos feeling rather less manipulative, overindulgent and sentimental and still works so well with the key performances feeding authenticity.
Even - or maybe especially? - with the changes it feels like staying faithful to the original script and managing to condense the brothers' rather dysfunctional slow bonding relationship that never feels over-sentimental but heart-warming and poignant with its self discovery paths and the funny sibling bonding moments.
The play of course largely depends on the two main protagonists and when they are as excellently cast as in this production the audience is in for an extra treat.
Stefan Haschke is by looks no Tom Cruise - luckily I think as casting could have gone totally wrong looking for a clone.
But just as Tom Cruise he captures the character's choleric preference of aggression and obvious coldness with all that smooth talking and drive for success at the beginning so well.
There are moments as in the opening scene where he shows the neurotic frenzy so well that despite knowing how the story ends you can only think of Charlie as a dislikable prick until quite close to the end of the show - despite regularly showing excellently minimalistically on the surface how deeply wounded he was by his father - but at the same time you cannot help but let his vulnerability and sincere frustration appeal to you - at least that what I felt as I could also partly relate to him due to various reasons.
By the end when Charlie has begun to understand and learn what brotherly love is Stefan Haschke does show this torn man between his old and his possible new life so well that you just wish him to decide for the best.
Benny Ifland is a most congenial autistic Raymond. Of course I couldn't help myself but compare him to Dustin Hoffman at the very beginning but soon completely forgot him with Benny Ifland being so convincing when he clumsily walks around or reacts to the things happening around him he so cannot has his very own way of delivering Raymond's dependence on routines and habits conveying them with such subtle skill and fills his performance with expressive detail.
All the well known scenes are there: the toothpick counting, the memorising of hundreds of pages of a telephone book, the whole need to watch certain TV shows at certain times, certain food at certain times etc and all are so well with so much textured compassion and vocal sincerity played adding his own personality to the part and not just copying Dustin Hoffman's. Despite Raymond being so gauky, so robotically obsessive and you kinda feel sorry for him you also cannot help but find him strangely adorable.
The other more secondary characters dutifully and largely successfully do their job.
Jessica Ohl as Charlie's girlfriend delivers a bit too giddy performance, maybe down to nerves when I went to the premiere but managed throughout the run, as I went to one later performance near the end of the run again, to be a bit more mellow and balanced.
Klaus Falkhausen as Dr Bruner delivers a strong and confident performance making most out of the small part and manages to make him even likeable when the doctor in the movie always was more of an arrogant smarta** for me and not really tangible.
Meike Harten in her various small roles does in the scenes a good job giving each so different characters its own identity but she also has the tough job also be often a filler during a scene change as at end of the first scene she as Lucy (dressed in a fat suits looking so hilarious) dancing to some old classic song bringing the audience to laugh - such funny lovely small touches.
The set is a cardboard galore, even the car, being bright, simple and effective with the design reminding of a comic strip - even the furniture used as e.g. the chairs and tables in the deceased father's hosue or the restaurant have some kind of contours painted on them.
Already when entering the auditorium huge cardboards with well known characters as Superwoman, Barbie, John Travolta, Ronald Reagan and the Simpsons printed in brightest colours popular in 1980's on them - all these many may actually associate with that decade being a total contrast to the rather serious story balancing and supporting it nevertheless well.
Overall "Rain Man" is a fantastic, most touching (yep, by the end tears were running), full of nuances but also occasionally humorous play and this production especially living from the two protagonists.
Unfortunately, as it currently seems five months later (yeah, very late, never got around to finish this), the Kammerspiele is not bringing back this wonderful play with others shown last season being announced for this season already while this hasn't. What a shame!
Cast:
Stefan Haschke -Charlie Babbitt
Benno Ifland - Raymond Babbitt
Klaus Falkhausen - Dr. Bruner
Jessica Ohl - Susanna (though in play called Susan)
Meike Harten - Iris/Sally Dibbs/Lucy (employee of Charlie - instead of Lenny)
Ole Schloßhauer - John Mooney/Dr. Marston/Police Officer
Adapted from the Oscar-winning film for the stage writer Dan Gordon sticked rather close to the movie telling of Charlie Babbitt, a self-centred automobile dealer and hustler from LA, who is at the point of losing everything when he learns of his father’s death.
So he is off to Cincinatti for the funeral with his girlfriend Susan expecting, as he thinks he is an only child despite leaving home on bad terms while still a teenager and never patching things up, to inherit everything his father left behind, but he faces the news that his wealthy father has left him only his 1949 Buick and his roses, items Charlie despises, and that he has left all his money to someone else not named in his will.
Charlie is understandably angry feeling that the money belongs to him.
He then discovers that his father has left the money to his older brother Raymond – a brother he never even knew he had - and who is autistic living in a home for the mentally disabled.
Determined to get half of his father's inheritance Charlie more or less kidnaps Raymond intending to take him to Los Angeles where he hopes a court will award him his share.
Susan had accompanied but when she learns of Charlie's plans she leaves him with Raymond alone.
As Raymond, when Charlie and him are to take a flight to LA, freaks out citing airline statistics Charlie is forced to drive all the way. In the course of a bumpy roller-coaster across the country journey Charlie however learns to love his brother, becomes somehow attached to him despite the extreme frustration of trying to connect emotionally (especially after learning that Raymond is the "Rain Man" whom he vaguely recalls from his toddler-hood and always thought his secret friend was not real) with his brother dealing with his dysfunctions and his extraordinary skills which eventually help Charlie to save his own business and have a chance to change his own life to also become a better and maybe wiser man in the end. He especially realises that his brother needs the kind of care Charlie cannot provide as much as he wants his brother to stay with him. So he lets him go and agrees that Raymond returns to the care home.
The major difference between the movie and the stage version is that while the movie is a "road movie" type one the play it nearly a chamber play told in an episodic mode. The scenes seem to be an American motel odyssey including ending in the gambling halls of Las Vegas and meeting various random people when travelling to L.A. creating a completely different atmosphere.
With none of the exterior road trip shoots the play looses the movie's pathos feeling rather less manipulative, overindulgent and sentimental and still works so well with the key performances feeding authenticity.
Even - or maybe especially? - with the changes it feels like staying faithful to the original script and managing to condense the brothers' rather dysfunctional slow bonding relationship that never feels over-sentimental but heart-warming and poignant with its self discovery paths and the funny sibling bonding moments.
The play of course largely depends on the two main protagonists and when they are as excellently cast as in this production the audience is in for an extra treat.
Stefan Haschke is by looks no Tom Cruise - luckily I think as casting could have gone totally wrong looking for a clone.
But just as Tom Cruise he captures the character's choleric preference of aggression and obvious coldness with all that smooth talking and drive for success at the beginning so well.
There are moments as in the opening scene where he shows the neurotic frenzy so well that despite knowing how the story ends you can only think of Charlie as a dislikable prick until quite close to the end of the show - despite regularly showing excellently minimalistically on the surface how deeply wounded he was by his father - but at the same time you cannot help but let his vulnerability and sincere frustration appeal to you - at least that what I felt as I could also partly relate to him due to various reasons.
By the end when Charlie has begun to understand and learn what brotherly love is Stefan Haschke does show this torn man between his old and his possible new life so well that you just wish him to decide for the best.
Benny Ifland is a most congenial autistic Raymond. Of course I couldn't help myself but compare him to Dustin Hoffman at the very beginning but soon completely forgot him with Benny Ifland being so convincing when he clumsily walks around or reacts to the things happening around him he so cannot has his very own way of delivering Raymond's dependence on routines and habits conveying them with such subtle skill and fills his performance with expressive detail.
All the well known scenes are there: the toothpick counting, the memorising of hundreds of pages of a telephone book, the whole need to watch certain TV shows at certain times, certain food at certain times etc and all are so well with so much textured compassion and vocal sincerity played adding his own personality to the part and not just copying Dustin Hoffman's. Despite Raymond being so gauky, so robotically obsessive and you kinda feel sorry for him you also cannot help but find him strangely adorable.
The other more secondary characters dutifully and largely successfully do their job.
Jessica Ohl as Charlie's girlfriend delivers a bit too giddy performance, maybe down to nerves when I went to the premiere but managed throughout the run, as I went to one later performance near the end of the run again, to be a bit more mellow and balanced.
Klaus Falkhausen as Dr Bruner delivers a strong and confident performance making most out of the small part and manages to make him even likeable when the doctor in the movie always was more of an arrogant smarta** for me and not really tangible.
Meike Harten in her various small roles does in the scenes a good job giving each so different characters its own identity but she also has the tough job also be often a filler during a scene change as at end of the first scene she as Lucy (dressed in a fat suits looking so hilarious) dancing to some old classic song bringing the audience to laugh - such funny lovely small touches.
The set is a cardboard galore, even the car, being bright, simple and effective with the design reminding of a comic strip - even the furniture used as e.g. the chairs and tables in the deceased father's hosue or the restaurant have some kind of contours painted on them.
Already when entering the auditorium huge cardboards with well known characters as Superwoman, Barbie, John Travolta, Ronald Reagan and the Simpsons printed in brightest colours popular in 1980's on them - all these many may actually associate with that decade being a total contrast to the rather serious story balancing and supporting it nevertheless well.
Overall "Rain Man" is a fantastic, most touching (yep, by the end tears were running), full of nuances but also occasionally humorous play and this production especially living from the two protagonists.
Unfortunately, as it currently seems five months later (yeah, very late, never got around to finish this), the Kammerspiele is not bringing back this wonderful play with others shown last season being announced for this season already while this hasn't. What a shame!
