London Calling calls our deeper nature

By Benjamin Joe

I rolled down the highway after my work-a-day job listening to the sounds of that fabled band, The Clash, also known as the only band that matters.

I whizzed by other cars. Streetlamps. Over the lines on the road. Heading south to the American Repertory Theater of WNY. There was something seething inside me, a deep down desire to live amongst the people in those turbulent times. In some cinematic universe of hope against all adversities as young people united behind the ideals and courage that The Clash embodied. Now I can only describe history and society moving away from that as this entire nation sways its own way merrily down the road, as surely as I did on my drive, hoping to find something that could rid me of this bad taste of mercury and lead in my water bottle.

Something to see. Something to believe in.

The play “London Calling” is a collaborative work of one acts pulled together by two wonderful directors Catherine Burkhart and Mariangela Mercurio. It features the times that birthed the new world that a young Joe Strummer, the other members of The Clash and many a punk rocker saw the aftermath of in England, sweet glorious England, that was bombed in World War II and never forgot it.

And this is the story of those days.

Bombed like so many other places are bombed from Gaza to Hiroshima in the midst of war. The people of London fled to the tunnels below the city. While the bombs dropped, an interested audience member might remember that all parts of society are affected by a rising tide of anti-semitism and genocide.

When two “butches” retell their stories of living outside the margins of society, one cannot help but recall the rich friends spoken of by three sisters, who preceded this often unseen narrative. The rich friends that also hid in these tunnels. Everyone is brought down to point zero in war. Young, old, rich and poor trying to exist while the Germans drop bombs like confetti upon that city.

By the intermission one cannot help but wonder what The Clash saw as they grew up and eventually encompassed the entire world? A generation after these war times, wondering if the world will continue turning without this grisly scene?

Or will it take all the strength and courage of all the characters in our lives to seek something new to stop war? To build what this Irish bartending wife wants to build with her English soldier husband as they, too, flee the bombs coming down on the very church they said their vows in. Forget the past. Forge the way to the future. It’s the idea that evil must be fought and it’s never enough to wait until spring.

Actor Andrew Zuccari plays the soldier.

“What I find so interesting about Jeremy’s character is he’s the human side of war. He wants to be all professional until it comes downs to it … then he always makes a human decision,” Zuccari said, noting that good or bad, hate or love, people are people, not cogs in a machine.

On the other end of this spectrum of ideas is Sarah Emmerling’s character “Sister #3” the youngest of three harboring in the tunnels. Every night they enact a short play.

“The older sister …  this is her coping mechanism … the more she does the story, the more she knows we can get through this … my philosophy in the show is the exact opposite. I don’t want to wait and hide. I feel repeating the same story over and over again is not going to progress us out of the crisis we’re in,” Emmerling said.

Danette Pawlowski also plays a pivitol role as MJ, a self-described Buffalonian butch who heard life for LGBTQ+ people was easier in the UK than the states. We find her though, crouching in the subways to hide from Nazi bombs and bullets.

“I think we’re all kind of down there just trying to survive. Not sure who to trust or who is who. That comes up a lot in the show,” Pawlowski said.

When the curtain comes up again we see the diametric society created even in this tunnel. A place of endless doubt and worry, but also hope. There are bullies and idealists. There are ideas that propel us and finally there is the choices we make. To be human, to be pure.

Director Burkhart said she loves how the different elements of our society intermingle and combust against — and also with — each other in the play’s narrative. The different segments of the world all in one place, she said.

“I like seeing MJ and Nicky’s little tale and very different from Mary and Jeremy’s tale and why are they here and what’s their background? I was a theater major so all of that characterization (is important to me). All of that backstory. This is what I think about, especially in directing them. You’ve got to think about that. The audience needs to see that. Or hear it,” she said.

The music of the Clash was also incorporated into the play with the three sisters and others singing various tunes from the legendary band that rose out of a new generation of London residents in a time when it wasn’t the Germans dropping bombs, but the economy dropping more and more misery upon the masses, especially the young who had no future to look forward to.

The 716 playwrights who wrote “London Calling” were Ellen Catherine Falank, Justin Karcher, Monish Bhattacharyya, James Marzo, Mark Humphrey, Matthew LaChiusa and j Snodgrass.

The play’s acting ensemble included Justin Pope as the radio announcer/soldier who earned his BFA in Theatre Performance with a focus in playwriting at Niagara University and acted in “Mercy Seat” last year.

Danette Pawlowski played MJ and is also an ART alumni with roles in “When World’s Collide” and “Mercy Seat.” She is a regular Pro Roster player and referee with Buffalo ComedySportz.

Brooke Bartell Goergon played Siobha McNamara, and also acted in “Rust and Redemption” which earned her an Artie nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play.

Andrew Zuccari played Jeremy, his third role in a show at ART of WNY. Previous shows include “Birth of Santa” and “Mercy Seat.”

Jamie Moore played Nicky as her debut with ART. She has now formally broken her seven year hiatus from acting since minoring in theatre performance at Niagara University.

Stephanie Bax played Mary and previously played Sharla in “Killer Joe” for which she was an Art Voice Award nominee. Bax graduated from Niagara County Community College and Niagara University, eventually earning a bachelors in musical theater.

Kaylie Horowitz played Sister #1 and this is also her debt at ART. She holds a BFA in performance from Auburn University and graduated from UB with a masters in Theatre and Performance Studies.

Sarah Emmerling played Sister #3 and has a BFA in Theatre Performance from Niagara University. She also played Mrs. Cratchit in “When Worlds Collide.”

Isabella Rouf played Sister #2 and is performing with ART for the first time in this production. She has played Elizabeth in “Frankenstein” and Lucy in “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.

The creative team was made up of Matthew LaChiusa as Set & Lighting Designer, Catherine Burkhart co-directing with Mariangela Mercurio, Monica Morrissey as Stage Manager and Rebecca Mutchock as Costume Design.

Showings of “London Calling” will begin on Feb. 8 and end Feb. 24. Go to https://artofwny.org/about-us/whats-next-at-art-6398679 for more information.