Buffalo Theater: Jewish Repertory Theatre drama in final

By Bella Poynton
(All images by James Gibbons)

Jewish Repertory Theatre of WNY has long been one of Buffalo’s most reliable producers of intimate, idea-driven drama, and Conscience by Joe DiPietro is no exception.

Directed by Steve Vaughn, the play offers a critical, historically based examination of moral courage during the McCarthy era, and one woman’s refusal to give in to fear. While the pacing of the production is sometimes challenging, the acting more than makes up for it, delivering four stellar performances, none more striking than Josie DiVincenzo’s portrayal of Margaret Chase Smith, which might be one of my favorite performances of this year’s theatre season so far.

DiPietro’s script primarily takes place in 1950, dramatizing the political height of Joseph McCarthy and Smith’s famous “Declaration of Conscience,” in which she condemned his bullying, fabrications and unethical tactics on the Senate floor. Structurally, the play is somewhat like a boxing match: two powerful figures, Smith and McCarthy, circling each other, throwing rhetorical blows, making strategic moves and playing ideological chess while Congress watches.

DiVincenzo’s portrayal of Margaret Chase Smith is strong, but also sweet — at times, even motherly. She has an uncanny ability to make iconic female characters (Sr. Aloysius, Kate Keller, Lady Macbeth) feel fully lived-in and human. Her Smith is deeply principled but also compassionate, perhaps to a fault. I found myself wishing I had a mentor like Smith — truthful and warm, with the rare ability to inspire self-improvement by being honest. Even in quieter moments, DiVincenzo gives off a moral clarity that holds the piece together. She is one of Buffalo’s great actors, and this role is yet another reminder why.

David Mitchell is a chameleon as Joseph McCarthy. He disappears so completely into the role that I often forgot I was watching an actor at all. The characterization is deplorable in all the right ways — he’s slimy and manipulative, but still charismatic. Mitchell also manages to find a small, surprising touch of vulnerability near the end, making us care for the villain, if only for a few moments. It’s always fun to watch someone play the bad guy, and Mitchell does so with gusto and joy.

The production’s tension builds most effectively through its supporting cast, particularly in a riveting scene where Mitchell’s McCarthy corners William J. Lewis (Smith’s aide, rendered perfectly by Nick Stevens) in a Capitol Hill bathroom. McCarthy tortures Lewis with knowledge of his hidden sexuality, terrifying him with threats of exposure, and reminding us that homosexuality was illegal in all forty-eight states at the time. Stevens gives the character a wide range of emotional life, from youthful bravado and political intelligence to deeply personal insecurities based on identity. His chemistry with DiVincenzo is warm and affectionate, and his most noteworthy scene, a drunken, heart-wrenching breakdown in Act II, makes him a memorable addition.

Anna Krempholtz is vibrant and compelling as Jean Kerr, McCarthy’s loyal aide and, later, wife. She shows us Kerr as a woman with genuine political talent who refuses to see how she is trapped within the not-so-subtle oppressions of patriarchal politics. Krempholtz brings nuance to a character who considers herself indispensable to McCarthy, despite his frequent humiliations. This sort of historical suspension of disbelief is sometimes challenging for young actors, but Krempholtz is a consummate professional and perfectly understands the context of the time. Her performance depicts the complexity of a woman who believes she is powerful but insists on staying within the situation where she is devalued.  

The projection design — credited to Steve Vaughn, K Gorny, Arin Lee Dandes, Chris Cavanaugh and James Gibbons — is outstanding, one of the strongest uses of projection I’ve seen in Buffalo. The black-and-white imagery captures the historical moment while also highlighting the significance of newspapers in the 1950s. The projections also help clarify timeline and context, serving as a reminder of how close we are to WWII and genuine Soviet influence; they make it easy for the audience to invest in the political climate. Meanwhile, Cavanaugh’s minimalist set, consisting of four small desk-like tables and chairs, is clever and effective. The tables and chairs transform swiftly into trains, congressional offices, bathroom stalls and restaurants. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this kind of minimal design work used so rigorously (it used to be all the rage about 10 or 15 years ago), and I appreciated seeing its fluidity in full effect.

While Conscience sometimes unfolds with a slower pace, that tempo feels almost inevitable in a piece so devoted to political authenticity. DiPietro’s script is committed to historical accuracy rather than flashiness or speed or spectacle. Its power lies in its steadiness and careful reconstruction of a particular time and place. Add in the four standout performances, and they more than compensate. I could watch Anna Krempholtz and Josie DiVincenzo banter as long as they had words to say to each other!

Nowadays, we think of Joseph McCarthy as a villain, but this play is about more than good and evil; it asks what McCarthy’s actions can teach us about the easiness of lies, the mutability of evidence and how charismatic leaders can lure us into unethical thinking. These ideas run parallel to similar questions being asked right now in our current political climate, making Conscience feel both historical and contemporary at the same time. In the end, Conscience is a thoughtful political drama, demanding patience, but rewarding us with a quartet of exceptional performances and a reminder that speaking truth to power has always been a daunting task, but also a necessary one.

Conscience continues at the Maxine and Robert Seller Theatre Thursday at 7:30, Saturday at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are available HERE. There will be a screening of the film version of Conscience Monday at 7 p.m.

Dr. Bella Poynton is a playwright, dramaturg, actor and theater historian from Buffalo. She teaches at SUNY Oswego.