Experts are making comparisons to the social unrest of the election years 1968 and 2024.
Likewise, books have been written about the working-class rage that led Donald Trump’s
election in 2016. Because it can be illuminating to look to history for an explanation for our
present moment, it makes sense that Invictus Theatre Company Chicago would bring this 1976
film to the stage, with its signature phrase “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it
anymore!”
“Network” unfolds around protagonist Howard Beale, a lonely and depressive news anchor,
whose ratings are tanking. As the play opens, the management has decided to fire him.
During his live broadcast, Beale truth tells that he’s fed up with the world’s B.S. and proposes to
commit suicide on-air. He tells viewers to tune in for his last night on the job for the big event.
Content is king, and unwittingly, Beale has tapped into a surprising, dark, and new form of
content. And the public is hungry for it. Diana Christiansen is a shrewd executive of
programming who recognizes the financial potential of Beale’s unscripted anger and talks her
boss into un-firing the anchor.
Freed from the norms of the traditional news format, the unhinged Beale becomes a prophet of
sorts. He makes nightly proclamations denouncing the status quo and the complacency and
disconnection it breeds and urges viewers to resist and act. The media executives, thrilled about
the jump in revenue, see Beale as a network-saving cash cow. Meanwhile, Max Schumacher, the
executive news producer, has grave concerns about Beale’s mental health.
The non-equity cast members relish their roles, despite the unsavory elements of this period
piece. There’s no denying the sexist conventions of the day that put men in the leadership roles,
and edged women into supporting roles – justifying the ambitious ones to leverage their
sexuality to realize their professional goals.
James Turano as Howard Beale is the real deal. A WGN Radio regular, he convincingly
channels Beale’s anguish, rage, and dynamism into the role. Diana Christensen plays Anne
Trodden, the director of programming, possessed of a shrewd grasp on what will captivate the
public. Trodden’s professional ambition and personal desire are inextricably woven, as
exemplified in the famous climax scene.
Chuck Munro plays the conflicted Max Schumacher, trying and failing to walk the line between
personal integrity and the reality of ratings. One of the more powerful scenes in the production is
when Schumacher’s wife (a sublimely moving monologue by ensemble member Keisha Yelton-
Hunter) confronts him about his extramarital affair.
Anyone who has worked in the broadcast medium, or journalism will delight in the specificity of
Invictus Theatre Company Chicago’s mid-1970s TV newsroom, complete with large, clunky
headsets, vintage studio cameras and a grid of monitors showing commercials from the era.
Charles Askenaizer, who directs Lee Hall’s adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning
screenplay, cleverly chooses to immerse the audience into the behind-the-scenes action of TV
news making. We become privy to “how the sausage is made” that we consume at home.
The production design aspect of “Network” is (chef’s kiss) and entire design team deserves
applause. Particularly effective are the wall monitors used throughout the show. They display
news footage and ads from the period, live camera feed, and other special effects. Credited as
the show’s dramaturg, journalism and broadcasting consultant is Craig Duff, an Emmy Award-
winning video journalist, documentary filmmaker and professor at Northwestern’s Medill School
of Journalism. The actors playing news crew members also serve as members of the production
team.
What can “Network” tell us about living in the world today? Two things stood out. First, was
Beale’s prophetic ranting about the pitifully small percentage of people who read to form ideas
versus the number glued to the screen, to be fed what to think and how to live. The evolution of
the broadcast medium now includes streaming on demand, social media, and podcasts, making
it easier than even to surrender our thinking to influencers and content creators.
The second thing that struck me was the reference to the Symbionese Liberation Army, the
militant group in the early 70s infamous for kidnapping media heir Patty Hearst. Conspiracy
thinking thrives today. So too has the sheer variety of fringe groups who espouse violence
against the government, educators, immigrants, LGBTQ people and more, interpreting current
events, without evidence, as further proof of their ideological framework.
Is Howard Beale a prophet of liberation or a conspiracy thinking influencer? See “Network” and
decide for yourself.
"Network" is playing Fridays through Mondays until August 29th at Invictus Theatre Company at the Windy City Playhouse, 3014 W. Irving Park Road, Chicago, Illinois 60618. For tickets and information go to : https://www.invictustheatreco.com/network
For more reviews go to https://www.theatreinchicago.com