“A View From The Bridge,” now playing at North Coast Repertory Theatre through October 13th, brings a classic to the stage anchored by powerful performances.

Alfieri (Frank Corrado), an older lawyer in the neighborhood, is the narrator and pseudo-Greek chorus throughout the piece as he sets the scene. Eddie (Richard Baird) has made a life for himself and his family working as a longshoreman, not afraid of the heavy and hard work required. Eddie lives with his wife Beatrice (Margot White) and her niece Catherine (Marie Zolezzi), who Eddie and Beatrice have doted on and brought up since she was small.

Catherine has been offered a secretarial job, which would take her out of the house and the neighborhood, an opportunity that Eddie doesn’t like, wanting her to stay closer. On top of that, Beatrice has two cousins, Marco (Lowell Byers) and Rodolpho (Coby Rogers), who are arriving from Italy, coming illegally to find work to send back home to Marco’s wife and children.

Photo Credit: Richard Baird, Margot White, Coby Rogers, Marie Zolezzi, & Lowell Byers Courtesy of Aaron Rumley

At the start, Eddie’s overprotectiveness of Catherine is just shy of inappropriate but escalates quickly when the blond Rodolpho and Catherine grow ever closer. Eddie visits Alfieri to see if there is any legal help, as Rodolpho “isn’t right” (aka he likes to sing, tell jokes and dance), but he is told there is no legal recourse. Frustrated, the pressure within Eddie continues to build to a tragic climax.

The ensemble is well supported by director David Ellenstein’s pacing and use of space. The scenic design by Marty Burnett gives the well-worn but unkempt apartment, the docks, and other parts of the neighborhood. These close quarters add to the sense of claustrophobia of the inevitable combustion of these people. The lighting design by Matthew Novotny, Sound design by Ian Scot, and period costumes by Elisa Benzoni all complete this picture.

Baird's Eddie is multifaceted—he is gruff and personable, thoughtful and well-spoken, reactive and short. He is a working-class guy who knows who he is, has a code, and has a worldview formed by growing up in the neighborhood. As circumstances unfold, it becomes more apparent that his control over his constantly simmering emotions is slipping, threatening to boil over and cause him to become a stranger to himself.

White as Beatrice offers an insightful and empathetic foil to Eddie’s fraught presence, trying to play peacekeeper, knowing that this situation is unsustainable. Zolezzi's Catherine is a good girl, willful like a girl trying to push her boundaries can be, and is full of girlish enthusiasm. Roger, as Rodolpho, matches Catherine’s excitement about exploring life beyond this neighborhood but is also more aware of the danger Eddie poses than Catherine can comprehend.

Byers' Marco is smart, observant, and a hard worker. He is willing to make the sacrifice of leaving his family for a few years to find work and save their lives—and in a notable scene, he quietly shows Eddie that he is not to be trifled with if anyone threatens his livelihood or family.

Photo Credit: Frank Corrado & Richard Baird Courtesy of Aaron Rumley

Baird’s scenes with Carrado are excellent, and where White’s Beatrice is the emotional counterpoint to Eddie’s behavior, Carrado’s lawyer Alfieri is the rational one for as much good as it does any of them.

The real tragedy is that Eddie knows the consequences of his actions but seems powerless to stop as he makes irrevocable decisions.

“A View From The Bridge” may be close to 70 years old, but the themes of justice, immigration, loss of control, and what defines masculinity are sadly as timely as ever.