It's 1941. Yes, a war is going on. The world is falling apart. But Walt Disney is mad. About other things. Across the ocean, the world may be disintegrating daily, but things also are awry in the House of Mouse. Disney has done so much for his talented animators (people he helped train), including Art Babbitt. He's been a little sexist, maybe, in the way he handles female illustrators. But it's 1941 and, well, he's making progress. When the illustrators strike and Babbitt stands by them, Walt, well, just goes Goofy on them.
Cameron Darwin Bossert's play has good subject matter and some good writing, including monologues explaining the key characters' thoughts. And there are good sections about drawing, illustration, art and Disney's passion for his craft and the characters he creates. But it does start spinning in circles a little bit and turn more into polemic than a play. We get argument rather than drama, activism above art.
Bossert's Walt Disney is well acted, as he shows us his passion for illustration and business. And yet, he seems to care more about his often lovable creations than his workers, his passion more than people. His friendships, we find, fall to the wayside in front of the juggernaut of his business. Half artist and half businessman, we see Bossert's Disney as conflicted, to say the least. He tries to save his company, even if it can mean giving his employees short shrift at times.
He's in survival mode, trying to keep Disney alive as a company. We all know Disney will grow into a huge, profitable company. But at the time, a happy future wasn't assured. And Walt Disney will not go gentle into that good night, or give in to artists' demands. What follows is a world of picket lines where the people Disney "created" and gave careers line up against him. The war on Walt Disney fought while another, bigger one is fought across the ocean.
We watch Kelley Lord try to work her way through Walt Disney's world, trying to rise as an illustrator. She plays the predicament of a person who wants to rise in a job that's dominated by men. And there is a sense of a men's club, although Disney, like the U.S. military, does employ men and women, recognizing that talent is the currency of the realm, even if opportunity and compensation are not equal.
Seeing the dark side of Disney has its benefits. The play, though, goes on somewhat too long for the drama and story. The plot, including the strike, sometimes overshadows the characters. Monologues, while well written, also slow the pace. In the end, "Burbank" falls short of a trip to Disneyland. It's frequently a wild ride, but also littered with lulls. "Burbank" has a lot of talent and potential, but in the end it is a case of a lot of promise, but much of it not realized as much as one might like.
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