Unfinished business. That’s how director Dietrich Smith felt when the run of “Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared” concluded last autumn after nine performances at the Atwater Village Theatre.
Smith not only directed Franz Kafka’s underrated unfinished novel, “Amerika,” he wrote an ending to the compelling story of 16-year old European immigrant Karl Rossmann’s experience in America, which was written between 1911 and 1914.
However, Smith and others believed the ending needed more work. “I read the reviews of the play and the reviewers were confused and I agreed with them,” Smith said. “It was not all there and now the play and the ending is all there. I’m so glad we get to present ‘Amerika’ again. I thank the donors, who enabled us to do this again. I had more time to work on it. The show wasn’t developed the first time out. I think the ending works now. If it doesn’t, I can’t blame anyone now.”
The latest version of “Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared” will run through May 3 at the Atwater Village Theatre.
Smith challenged himself with a daunting task. Who knows which way Kafka was headed after he gave up on the home stretch of “Amerika?” “Kafka clearly hit a wall,” Smith said. “It’s a shame.”
Matthew Goodrich and Oqalile Tshetshe in “Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared.”
(Thomas Alleman/Submitted)
It’s a fascinating novel, which was published posthumously in 1927, three years after Kafka’s death at the age of 40. Kafka incorporated details of the experiences of his relatives, who emigrated to the United States.
The protagonist, the aforementioned Rossmann, leaves for New York City to escape the scandal after impregnating a housemaid and his adventures begin on the ship across the Atlantic and continue in the country that Kafka never visited.
“For a book that was written 114-years ago, it’s remarkably relevant to where we now stand,” Smith said. “When you look at what immigrants went through over a century ago in America and what immigrants are going through now, it’s astonishing.”
Smith wonders what Kafka would make of his conclusion of “Amerika.” “It’s interesting since Kafka was so dissatisfied with his own book that he didn’t finish it or know how to get out of it,” Smith said. “But I wanted to finish it. It’s a great novel. Maybe he would like what I’ve done or maybe he would say, ‘What have you done with my great story?’
Even though Kafka failed to complete ‘Amerika,’ it is known that he told his friend and biographer Max Brod that he was proud of the incomplete chapter, “The Nature Theatre of Oklahoma.” According to Brod, he delighted in reading that chapter and did so in an animated manner.
“Kafka was really onto something,” Smith said. “He would read from the book in cafes. He wrote this book when he was on a creative roll. He was spinning his wheels at the end of it but the bulk of the book is so inspired.”
Smith has something Kafka did not possess when he was creating “Amerika” and that’s a talented crew that is putting on the show at the Atwater Village Theatre. John R. Dilworth, who is creator of “Courage the Cowardly Dog,” has crafted the animation sequences. Seven-time Academy Award winner Gary Rydstrom, who is handling the sound design, won hardware for the same gig while working on such iconic films as “Jurassic Park,” “Titanic,” “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” and “Saving Private Ryan.”
Nearly half the cast is different, including the lead, who is played by Oqalile Tsheshe during the current production. “But we’re fine with that,” Smith said. “We sent an email to all of the actors, who were part of ‘Amerika’ during the fall. One had a medical crisis. The others had job offers. That’s the way it went. We elevated the understudy (Tshetshe) and he’s a magnificent actor. I’m excited to see how this goes over and I’m excited about how we have 18 performances this time, which is double what we presented during the fall.”
Smith capitalized on having a second chance to conclude “Amerika,” which is something Kafka decided not to pursue. How different is the ending this time around for Smith? Folks will have to trek to the Atwater Village Theatre to find out.
“This was such a challenge,” Smith said. “Kafka is such a concise writer. He and I are opposites. I’m a verbose writer. It’s fascinating doing something like this with Kafka. When you take on something like this, you think, ‘Who am I to try to write an ending to Kafka’s ‘Amerika?’ I started doing this in 2007 and this is how I completed it and I’m fine with it.”
‘Amerika or, The Man Who Disappeared’
WHEN: April 6 through May 3; 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 7 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays and Monday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m
WHERE: Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Avenue, Los Angeles
COST: Tickets are $26 and $45.
INFO: 323-544-1929, atwatervillagetheatre.org