MTS’s Dogfight explores empathy, love and youth

By Haley Clough

Emerson’s Musical Theatre Society (MTS) presents “Dogfight,” a musical based on the 1990s film by Nancy Savoca. The show tells the story of Eddie Birdlace, a young U.S. Marine serving during the Vietnam War in the 1960s, and his tumultuous relationship with a shy waitress, Rose. In the days after their training, Birdlace and his rowdy friends arrive in San Francisco, ready to find some fun prior to their deployment. Thus ensues the dogfight, a long-standing betting tradition where each Marine pools their money, and the one who finds the ugliest date wins.

Samantha Boutureira, Rose in MTS’s “Dogfight,” said the plot of the show and the dogfight are symbolic of the Marine’s experience in the real world after deployment. “It’s actively denying human emotion from the people you’re dealing with,” she said. “It’s seeing people as objects rather than seeing people as human beings that have lives and feelings, and [in that way] the dogfight is just a small-scale representation of war.”

To the director, Lena Schmitt, “Dogfight” encapsulates the way young people hurt each other. “More importantly, how they recover,” she explained. “What’s the human capacity for change? Can we become better people if we want to, if we’re willing? And what’s the human capacity for forgiveness; can we let people change even when they’ve hurt us?” The show explores all of these questions, masterfully performed by an exceptional cast.

Seth Wannemacher as Eddie Birdlace is flawless. His vocal control, emotional grit and chemistry with the cast are awe-inspiring. Samantha Boutureira offers depth to Rose, juxtaposing the character’s kind, gentle demeanor with an immaculate, breath-catching voice full of power and conviction. Each cast member fully committed to their role, a feat not to be underestimated. In such an emotional, haunting show, becoming the character is heavy.

Max Ripley, playing Bernstein, said the key to performing such an intense story was “tapping in” and “tapping out” as a cast. “We tap in every show, and that takes us into the show, and out from just being people. It just helps, it’s another reminder that you did something for the audience, and that was it.”

While it was important for the cast to separate themselves from the behavior of their characters, the message of the show was not something they only contextualized within the story. Schmitt said that while she didn’t pitch the show in response to any global conflict, she felt it would be “irresponsible to look at theater as if it exists in a vacuum. It doesn’t. The real importance of [the story] is talking about empathy and really thinking about others as we move through life.”