Man and Superman

Man and Superman conveys many of the best parts of Shaw's humanistic cynicism without dissolving completely into the philosophical ramblings that he enjoyed so much. Not that Shaw curbed his didacticism in this play; he created a long episode of Don Juan in Hell specifically as a setting for what he called a "Shavio-Socratic dialogue." But Shaw could preach without becoming soporific. John Cunningham's commanding performance as Don Juan helps prevent the scene in Hell from going entirely limp. And Frank Lucas's portrayal of a civilized, romantic Lucifer is as delightfully incongruous as his depiction of Mendoza, the brigand chief.

Shaw's Hell turns out to be a very pleasant place. One would have expected him to create a pleasant Inferno, just as one would have expected him to create, in the main portion of the play, a predatory woman, a snivelling romantic who pursues her in vain and an anti-romantic iconoclast whom she finally corners.

The iconoclast, wealthy socialist John Tanner, is a modern counterpart of his ancestor, Don Juan. Tanner violates conventions, rather than damsels. Cunningham plays Tanner well, albeit very seriously. His performance falters only at the end, when he tells the predatory Ann in an intentionally farcical manner that he lover her. Earlier in the act, the confrontation between an American billionaire, Hector Malone, and his rebellious son is also performed with broad, almost burlesque humor. But the Malones' argument forms a self-contained episode and does not jar the audience.

John Irving's performance as the romantic Octavius suffers less from a lapse of character than from an excess of it. Irving's Octavius is a bit too snivelling and dense but never really mars the play.

Patricia Cutts who plays Ann gives the weakest performance. Miss Cutt's delivery is so flat that her expressions of sentiment are usually difficult to believe. Of course, Ann's mendacity is a vital part of her character. But so is her apparent sincerity. Her actions, not her delivery, should make her hypocrisy clear. Miss Cutts improves in the third act, though, and her beatific smiles are always disarming.

At times, Man and Superman may seem interminable to the audience, but cutting has made this performance considerably more terminable than Shaw meant it to be. The cuts do not interfere with the basic plot or with the essence of Shaw's philosophizing. They do, however, eliminate several good lines and at least one amusing complication. Some of the missing passages would have livened up the interlude in Hell. But even a truncated Shaw is better than no Shaw at all, and Man and Superman can survive considerable deletions without losing the master's spirit or even his verbosity.