Chick, the Great Osram, like the man is flawed but ultimately fascinating

What happens when an immovable object meets an irrepressible force? Plenty of fireworks, frustration, but in the end, a legacy that is remarkable.
That is the story, told in three monologues, based on the life of J. Everett Austin, Jr., known as “Chick,” a young and fearless visionary, who came to Hartford at the tender age of 27 from Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum to be the director of the Wadsworth Atheneum.
So often museums seem to be repositories of the old and dead, but Austin arrival in Hartford attempted to change all that. He dragged the oldest museum in the country from the ancient, stuffy past towards the cutting edge of modern vital art.
It must have been a trying time to be a museum director anywhere — first with the Great Depression, and then World War II. Despite his rocky relationship with the board of directors, Austin remained there for 16 years, until he was asked to leave in 1944, moving on to direct the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla.
But in that 16 year span, what a legacy Austin left Hartford, particularly in the realm of modern art, but also accumulating important masterworks by Baroque painters such as the Italian artist, Caravaggio.
It is difficult to imagine today how the surrealist, cubist, and expressionist art of Pablo Picasso (who had his first America retrospective at the Wadsworth), Vincent Van Gogh, Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dali, Alexander Calder, Paul Klee, and Joan Miro could have been viewed with such violent and intense revolt, but that was exactly what Austin was up against.
The play is a chronological retelling of Austin’s life through three monologues, the first and last by Austin and the second by his wife, Helen. It felt like a lively, entertaining lecture on one man’s passion and vision of art, particularly modern art.
The first scene is set at Trinity College where Austin taught art history, the second is a living room at the couples’ home, which still stands on Scarborough Street in Hartford, and the third is a stage set where Austin preformed as a magician, the Great Osram.
Austin took the name of “Osram” from the name of a German light bulb company.
If ever there was an instance of perfect casting, this is it. Robert Sella, who plays Chick, looks uncannily like Austin, whose photograph is part of the program, and inhabits the character of the passionate and flawed man with energy and wit.
However, no matter how energetic one is, nothing but monologues gets to be a bit monotonous after a while.
Helen, well played by Sella’s real-life partner, Enid Graham, emerges as a sympathetic and unexpectedly non-conventional, but ultimately lonely woman — heartbreakingly in love with a flamboyant, gifted, narcissistic, gay man — love story that notably parallels Cole Porter’s complex relationship with his wife, Linda.
There were times during the production when the imaginary third wall was broken, and the actors would speak directly to the audience, but then at other times they would lament that there was no one there to share their story, which felt confusing and awkward.
The last act, featuring Austin’s magic act where he is dressed as a sea-god, and then transitions to his illness, had at times a silhouetted thorn bush branch lighting, which perhaps was an attempt to create a surrealistic theatre, but ultimately was difficult to follow and felt disjointed.
Rarely has a play’s program been such an excellent companion to a play. Thoroughly researched, it not only has a synopsis of Austin’s career, but also includes major events from 1927 till Austin’s death from cancer in 1957 at the age of 57.
In light of the financial difficulties the museum is currently struggling under, the timing of this play couldn’t be better. It is an entertaining reminder of the remarkable gift Austin’s legacy of vision and passion left us all.

CHICK, THE GREAT OSRAM

Three Stars

Location: Hartford Stage Company, 50 Church Street, Hartford.

Production: By David Frimm. Directed by Michael Wilson. Scenic design by Tony Straiges. Costume design by David C. Woolard. Lighting design by Rui Rita. Original music and sound design by John Gromada. Magic consultant, Marc Gilday. Production stage manager Gregory R. Covert. Associate producer and dramaturg, Christopher Baker. Associate artistic director, Jeremy B. Cohen. Production manager, Deborah Vandergrift.

Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.

Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday (Oct. 28 only) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., with Wednesday matinees on Oct. 31 and Nov. 7. Show runs through Nov. 11. No evening shows on Wednesday, Oct. 31 or Sunday, Nov. 11.

Sunday, Oct. 28 2 p.m. matinee and 7:20 p.m. shows will have a text screen display of dialog simultaneous with performance for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
“Afterwords” discussion after the show led by artistic staff and actors on Oct. 23, Oct. 30 and Nov. 7 matinee.
Sunday afternoon discussion, Nov. 4, with associate producer Christopher Baker and special guest after the matinee performance.

Tickets: $37.50- $68.50. Call 527-5151 or visit their Web site at
www.hartfordstage.org.

ACTOR...CHARACTER
Robert Sella...Chick
Enid Graham...Helen