Cry Havoc (Bedlam at the New Ohio Theatre) Written and performed by Stephan Wolfert
My love of Shakespeare drew me to this tiny theatre in the West Village, for in the title of this one man show are some of the fiercest words of Antony’s soliloquy over Caesar’s murdered body in ‘Julius Caesar’.
“Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war;
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion men, groaning for burial.”
It seems only right, then, that Stephan Wolfert delivers one of the most breathtaking performances I have ever had the privilege to witness; truly wreaking havoc on the emotions of the audience. All I can say is go—go, go, go before the limited run is over.
Mr. Wolfert tells his life story, from surviving his alcoholic parents to surviving a brutal injury in high school to surviving boot camp and, eventually, becoming an elite United States Army officer. Though he survived many horrors, one too many put him AWOL on a train to Montana. Seeing a production of Richard III in a small theater there changed his life and he traded in his uniform for an education and a life in the theatre. How incredibly lucky we are that he did.
This brilliant performance is rife with lines from Shakespeare’s plays dealing with war. Then, as now, war permeated the collective conscious and was either the subject of, or a main plot line in so many of the bard’s works. Those who say that human nature doesn’t change have only to look at these glorious words about this inglorious subject to know that they are right.
After a performance which should leave him wrung out and speechless, Mr. Wolfert puts his audience into a circle on the stage and conducts a sort of group therapy session—for who among us hasn’t been or hasn’t known someone touched by the ‘dogs of war’.
Along with being an insanely talented performer, Mr. Wolfert is a man on a mission; to educate; to help; to heal. He brings vividly to life that we, as a society, must figure out a way in which men and women who are ‘wired for war’ by the military that they serve can be ‘unwired’ and return to a civilian life in which they can function. Their nightmares need to be our nightmares so that, collectively, we can all reach a place where instead of judgement there is compassion; instead of fear there is understanding. As Shakespeare says, “There is no darkness but ignorance” and “Let’s go hand in hand, not one before another.”
Thank you, Stephan Wolfert, for finding the courage to purge your demons through glorious words; for offering your hand, your heart, your talent.