INTERVIEW: ‘Kafkaesque!’ is very Kafkaesque
Photo: From left, James Harvey, Josh Nasser, Curry Whitmire, Alexandra Nader and Emily Olcott star in Kafkaesque! Photo courtesy of Nicolas Arauz / Provided by The Press Room with permission.
Kafkaesque!, one of the hits of the 2023 New York Theater Festival, has returned to New York City for an off-Broadway run at 154 Christopher St., in the space once known as the New Ohio Theatre. The musical comedy, according to press notes, is the work of James Harvey, who is responsible for the book, music and lyrics. Oh, and he’s also playing Franz Kafka on stage.
For the unbeknownst, Kafka was a hugely influential writer whose dystopian short stories are the stuff of legend, leading some contemporary writers to apply (quite liberally) the adjective Kafkaesque to anything remotely dark, foreboding or soul-crushing. Perhaps his most famous work is The Metamorphosis, which features a character waking up after being transformed into an insect.
In Harvey’s new piece, an American family must deal with all of Kafka’s eccentricities. If it happened in one of the original short stories, then there’s a good chance it will happen to this family in Kafkaesque!, which continues until Sunday, Nov. 10, and is directed by Ashley Brooke.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Harvey, who is known for other comedic takedowns, such as Prime Day, The Bald Faced Truth and The Crack in the Ceiling. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
When did you first read a story by Franz Kafka?
Five or so years ago I started with The Metamorphosis and quickly devoured the rest of Kafka’s major works. I guess Gregor Samsa really is a gateway bug. I’m so sorry I said that, please delete this interview.
What Kafka stories stand out for you as some of his best?
My all time favorite is A Hunger Artist, which is about a performer whose art is not eating. Initially his act is a big hit, but when the public loses interest, he continues fasting, to death, because it’s his calling. I really related to this one as a struggling writer who was actively making his life worse by pursuing art that no one cared about, but couldn’t stop. In our show, this story is represented by a young woman twitch streaming herself not eating.
What exactly is Kafkaesque!? How would you explain this theatrical experience?
This show mashes up some of Franz Kafka’s greatest hits and adapts them to be about one modern American family, much in the way Into the Woods adapts and connects fairy tales. It’s both faithful to Kafka’s original vision and an insane, internet-poisoned satire of life in 2024. Formally, it’s a pretty novel explosion of sketch, standup and a traditional book musical. I really think there’s nothing else like it.
I take it you believe the adjective Kafkaesque is overused?
No! I think people should call more things Kafkaesque! Lines at the DMV, captcha verification, the TV show Love is Blind, even wine (light and citrusy with Kafkaesque notes). Words are just sounds, who cares. Franz would have wanted it this way.
What’s it like to perform in a work you created?
I “host” the show as Franz Kafka, accompany the entire musical on piano and pop into the story disguised as various bureaucrats, agents, lawyers, etc. There are a lot of meta layers to that; me as the writer of the musical and as Franz Kafka, the writer and puppet master of the characters in the show. It’s really fun blurring those lines. I also enjoy people looking at me and clapping, as opposed to me sitting in the back of the theater nervously watching my show be performed.
Are there lessons from Kafka that can help us understand the times we live in?
You know how you feel psychically wrecked by the dark unfeeling universe, grinded into paste by capitalism, how your self-loathing has left you so disconnected from your fellow man and your own humanity that you might as well be a bug? That’s totally normal!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Kafkaesque!, written by and starring James Harvey, continues through Sunday, Nov. 10, at 154 Christopher St. in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
