Monday, January 26, 2009
Fairies and farces
I've taken in lots of theater in the past week. Here's a quick recap:

Thursday: John Guare's "Rich and Famous" at A.C.T. I was kind of dreading this one after reading the review in the Chronicle, which used words such as "zany" and "slapstick." Longtime blog readers who also pay attention to my theater reviews (anyone? anyone??) will note that I hate and despise A.C.T.'s farces. Still, "Rich and Famous" was only 1 act; how bad could it be? As it turns out, really bad, dated, theater-of-the-absurd 1970s fare. Horrible. It's almost funny to read the audience reviews attached to the Chron review and on goldstar.com, they are so hostile. "An intermission would have been helpful. Not having one made it trickier to find good a time to walk out. But we did walk out." This is the kind of show that makes me rethink my season tickets. Still, there are four shows left, and there's always room for improvement -- though next month's feature, "Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins," sounds kinda lame. (Coming in 2057: "William Hung: The Musical.")

Saturday: Gilbert & Sullivan's "Iolanthe," performed by the Lamplighters. I set two theatrical goals last year: to see all 10 plays in August Wilson's 20th century cycle, and all 14 of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operettas. It could take a while. "Iolanthe" didn't delight me as much as "H.M.S. Pinafore," but it was still an excellent production and anything with F. Lawrence Ewing is worth seeing -- he just brings everything you want in a G&S performer, and his ultra-rapid-paced, tongue-twisting number, "Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest," was truly show-stopping. It's always kind of a jolt when Ewing speaks to the audience in his normal voice after the show (he's on the Lamplighters board, so I guess he's kind of the designated spokesman) and you realize that he's not an upper class English fop after all. One of the things "Iolanthe" has working against it is that it's about a young man who is "half-fairy, half human," and lines of dialogue like "Hush! My bride knows nothing of my fairyhood," can't help but generate giggles from a 2009 audience.

No more G&S works by Lamplighters until next January ("Patience"), but Stanford's Savoyards will be putting on "The Gondoliers" in April, and San Jose's Lyric Theater does "The Yeomen of the Guard" in June.

Sunday: "Art" at Altarena Playhouse. Yes, it happens sometimes that a community theater production is far more entertaining than one at a big professional house, and the French comedy "Art," by Yasmina Reza, was a total delight. Like "Rich & Famous," it's a one-acter, but there were no walk-outs, even though the language is occasionally a bit blue for the Sunday matinee crowd. I had seen the touring Broadway production of "Art" with Judd Hirsch a few years ago, but I have to say that the trio of local actors at Altarena did a fabulous job. The show was riotously funny and featured some surprising interactions with the audience (it's a very small theater). It runs for another week, and is highly recommended.
posted by 125records @ 3:46 PM  
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