EmanuEl immerses us in Brecht's famed Alienation Theatre technique, which always strives to make the audience aware that it is watching a play. (You see the inner workings of the watch, not just the "shiny image of the face and cover," EmanuEl says.) In the Fresno State production, we watch actors saunter over to a costume assistant and change for the next scene. A packet of money meant as a bribe is crudely labeled "MONEY." A mortal wound -- of which there are many in this "gangster" play -- is symbolized by a character pulling a bright red handkerchief from a pocket.

In a constant reminder that we're in a theater, the large (and often unruly) cast positions itself as chorus and commentators, always on stage, always reinforcing the idea of the audience.

Nick Haas, as the scheming title character, brings a nice, simmering sense of menace to the role. As Arturo Ui, newly released from prison, he battles his way in this satirical allegory to control of Chicago's political machine after dominating the local vegetable trade. Every so often there are blatant reminders that this character is a stand-in for Hitler, whether it's his followers coalescing into goose-stepping soldiers or the burning of a vegetable dealer's warehouse, a nod to Hitler's burning of the Reichstag.

Standouts in the large cast include Jered Hobbs as Ui's low-key but ruthless lieutenant, Kyle Dodson as an abrasive henchman, Albert Bonilla as a snooty actor recruited to teach the dictator the finer points of image control and Amanda Valdez as the narrator.

Acting is another tricky maneuver in a Brecht play -- he was into a style that focused on the shadings of relationships between people, not necessarily their inner psychological states -- and it's easy to come across as a one-dimensional shouter. (There's some of that going on in this production.) But when the technique works, it's highly effective, such as with the performance of a very strong Ashley Hyatt as the wife of one of Ui's political rivals. Her conflicted coldness in regards to her husband is a highlight.

I'm going to be upfront here: It isn't supposed to be easy to "fall" into a Brecht play, especially one as self-conscious as this title. I've never fully been able to resolve the disconnect between the theatrical conventions that are so much a part of a handsomely mounted production such as this -- Izzy Einsidler's fierce lighting, Hawk Duncan's potent sound design, Joel Presley's punchy percussion score, and especially Elizabeth R. Payne's sumptuous costumes, which with their noirish blacks, creamy whites and flashes of red (a shirt cuff, a tie, the stained fingertips of a pair of gloves) suggest Shabby Murder Chic -- and Brecht's disdain for naturalism.

Could it be this Fresno State production is too polished and slick? Perhaps. But without that polish, could it make its point?

What I found it hardest to absorb from the play was a sense of contemporary relevance. What I found myself wanting from Brecht's play is more of an insight into WHY people are so willing to cede their rights to a dictator. Is it the threat of violence, or the promise of sustenance, or simply an astute use of image and propaganda? To me, "Arturo Ui" is more a vehicle of frustration -- a way for Brecht to rail against Nazism -- than a gripping work.

EmanuEl's show last year at Fresno State, William Saroyan's "The Slaughter of the Innocents," also focused on political repression, in that case McCarthyism. With "Arturo Ui," he once again puts the focus on how easy it for people to follow the siren song of totalitarianism. What's clear is that EmanuEl is fascinated with theater that makes his students and audiences think. With his retirement, he'll be missed.