Camping With Henry and Tom
Mark St. Germain’s docu-fantasy Camping With Henry and Tom is set in that natural netherworld. And in the capable hands of Chicago actor-director Gary Houston, it’s an entertaining revision of American history that explores the nature of power with satisfying finesse. Houston uses his excellent cast to full advantage, allowing the tension of hidden agendas, misunderstandings, and dangerous confidences to build into a realistic struggle for control.
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The compelling and complicated relationships among the three men testify to the performers’ skill and the play’s intelligence. St. Germain seamlessly weaves actual quotes from the inventor, the businessman, and the politician into their conversation, offering us a glimpse of the private lives and histories of these very public personalities. Because they are powerful men, their philosophies are swaggering and a bit pat, at least at first. But as the play digs more deeply into their agendas and counterplans, each man reveals the more awkward sides of his ideology. Their darker beliefs and their vulnerabilities become the currency of a surprising negotiation of the future of the country.
For many reasons, my favorite character is Edison. Richard Henzel’s performance is nuanced and intelligent, showing the inventor at 72, a fragile man of steel who ultimately names and controls the play’s historic decision. Like my grandfather, Henzel’s Edison is an observer, a man who tells his stories sparingly and guards his loyalties against manipulation and exploitation. He is a mediator, able to shape other men, despite his physical frailties, with a curmudgeonly intelligence. Edison often surprises with his sarcasm or gentleness–he cannot be predicted.
