An Enemy of the People/The Lorax

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Looking at the title of this blog, you might wonder what a 19th century Norwegian play and a movie based on a book by Dr. Seuss might have in common. Well, the first thing is the fact that I saw them on the same day. An Enemy of the People was the Manhattan Theatre Club's production at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The Lorax on DVD from Netflix. The second common thread is that both deal with a collision between economics and environmental concerns.



In An Enemy of the People, we have Dr. Theo Stockman (played by the wonderful Boyd Gaines) discovering that the water supply to the baths that are the economic foundation of his town is contaminated. Dr. Stockman is idealistic and intelligent, but naive and lacking in political skills. He believes that his news will be embraced and that the powers-that-be in the town will do all that is necessary to correct the problem, no matter what the cost. In this he is mistaken, as the powers, led by his brother the mayor (played by Richard Thomas in a role performed stridently in the first act but more subtly in the second) refuse to make any changes. While some people originally back Dr. Stockman (most with their own agendas), eventually, the whole town turns against him and he is labeled "An Enemy of the People".

In The Lorax, we start in a world after the environment has been destroyed and the town has become a dictatorship. One young man starts looking into what happens, and gets told the story of the Lorax, a forest guardian.

Of the two stories, the Lorax has the happier ending. In An Enemy of the People, we end with Dr. Stockman defeated, standing in the ruins of his life (and home). In The Lorax, the boy gets the girl, the dictator is overthrown, and the animals return.

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