PHOTOS COURTESY OF DIAMOND HEAD THEATRE From left, Dan Hale (Chief Bromden), Randl Ask (Dale Harding), Allen Cole (Randle McMurphy) and Bridget Kelly (Nurse Ratched) star in Diamond Head Theatre's production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

‘Cuckoo’s Nest’
returns to source

An actress searches for clues to Big Nurse

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by John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com

Bridget Kelly is turning that old cliche about "those who can't do, teach" inside out this month. Kelly, a veteran actress who opens tonight in the role of Nurse Ratched in Diamond Head Theatre's production of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," also teaches drama at Maryknoll, and she's been sharing the process of getting into the role with her students.

'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Where: Diamond Head Theatre, 520 Makapuu Ave. When: 8 p.m. tonight, continuing Thursdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 16 Tickets: $10 to $40 Call: 733-0274

"It's a perfect opportunity to show them how you research a part," Kelly said over lunch recently, explaining that she wants her students to approach acting as more than simply memorizing lines and following a director's instructions.

Kelly will be performing with Allen Cole, who stars as subversive con man R.P. McMurphy, Dan Hale (Chief Bromden) and Randl Ask (Dale Harding). The story of the battle between McMurphy and Ratched, inspired by author Ken Kesey's experiences working the night shift in a mental ward, was already considered a contemporary masterpiece when Jack Nicholson starred as McMurphy in the 1975 film version.

The Oscar-winning movie has shaped popular perceptions of the story for over a quarter-century. Kelly says that director Bill Ogilvie and set designer Patrick Kelly (no relation) are going back to the Kesey novel for insights in bringing playwright Dale Wasserman's script to life in their stage presentation.

"The play is based on a really amazing piece of literature by one of our greatest American writers, and we're trying to pull as many details as are appropriate out of the book for our production. It's an opportunity to really research and get into the characterizations. Someone asked me how I deal with playing a two-dimensional role ... and I think it's all there. It's my job to make it all fit, and I'm trying to make (Nurse Ratched) as three-dimensional as possible, given the circumstances of who these players are."

Kelly's preparation included collecting everything that Kesey revealed about Nurse Ratched in the novel. One important fact was that Ratched had served as a nurse in the Army; another was that she had no psychiatric training. The book takes place in the 1950s, and after establishing Ratched's approximate age and the length of time she had been a nurse, Kelly contacted the Hawaii Western Nurses Association to familiarize herself with the history of the Army Nurse Corps in World War II and the early Cold War period.

Kelly wondered what type of women became Army nurses -- why did they serve, what type of training did they receive and how were they treated by the military medical establishment. In short, what kinds of experiences would Nurse Ratched have had that made her into the dreaded "Big Nurse" of a mental ward?

"What I wanted to do was to get as specific as possible to pinpoint what kinds of things she knows. I needed to know what the training would be. I found out about the nursing labor history and went into the highlights of the Army Nurse Corps. Something I found interesting was that the nurses avoided being drafted during World War II by volunteering their services ... and that told me something about the grit of these women."

Kelly ended up with a ring-binder full of articles and photos that she photocopied from books and other publications. She decided to model her characterization of Nurse Ratched on the documented career of Lilian Dunlap, an Army nurse who served with distinction in World War II and eventually reached the rank of colonel -- a high rank indeed for a woman in the Army of that day.

"I think her picture sums up what a woman like Mildred Ratched would be aspiring to (and) who her role models are," Kelly said, showing several photos of Dunlap in uniform.

Kelly also researched the history of the facility where "Cuckoo's Nest" takes place (it was originally a conventional prison and only later converted for use as a mental hospital). She also talked with retired nurses to familiarize herself with the medical doctrines and patient-handling procedures of the period.

"I wanted to get into the details of what the work would have been, the icons that they would have been aspiring to and what the men's world was like, the world they're coming from ... You can't just relate to her as evil (because) in the world Ken Kesey talks about, it's the time coming out of the Korean War and moving into Vietnam, and everybody is affected by it."

Kelly admits that, despite all her preparation, she may still not be what people expect to see when they envision the "Big Nurse."

"Some people have said I'm too small or too young (for the role) -- but does 'Big Nurse' refer to her actual physical stature or is it her status and presence in the ward?"

In that case, expect Kelly to be terrifyingly tyrannical, starting tonight.

COURTESY OF DIAMOND HEAD THEATRE Dale Harding (Randl Ask) and Nurse Ratched (Bridget Kelly) share a moment.

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