Entertainment

‘Voices’ fades away

It seemed like a great idea: Resurrect a 1931 piece about the Great Depression and put it up in a temporary “pop-up” theater downtown.

But this revival of “Can You Hear Their Voices?” confuses Depression with depressing — depressingly bad, that is.

Hallie Flanagan and Margaret Ellen Clifford’s play, which jumps between the inhabitants of a drought-ravaged Arkansas town and a congressman’s wealthy family in Washington, erupts in bursts of impassioned agitprop.

READ MORE ON THE POST’S THEATER BLOG

It’s hard to believe there was a time when millions of Americans considered communism a viable option. But then, unfettered capitalism didn’t feed them, so what were the choices?

“Voices” could have been rousing, but the

multimedia production by Ralph Lewis and Barry Rowell misses the mark.

Granted, the actors don’t have much room to maneuver in their little storefront, and the clutter on the walls dilutes the impact of the projections.

Amateurish acting and ill-advised staging decisions don’t help. Color- and gender-blind casting only creates confusion — and since when do debutantes sport tattoos?

Worst of all is that it’s hard to care. It speaks volumes that when one of the Arkansans confesses to committing an unspeakable act, the revelation barely registers. These downtrodden folks deserved better than this ineptitude.

elisabeth.vincentelli
@nypost.com