|
||
|
Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews The Coarse Acting Show By Michael Green Reviewed by Keith Waits Entire contents copyright © 2009, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.
It strikes me that this freewheeling satire of an over-earnest, amateur, church-based theatre troupe constitutes a considerable act of daring. The script is so unrelenting in cataloguing the many and varied ways in which disaster befalls the inexperienced players that for any community theatre company to mount such a production might beg the question of its own professionalism. Only a company with a reputation for quality might get away with it. The premise is that we have stepped into a church housing the newly-formed "The Lord's Repertory Company," presenting its inaugural production, A Night of Passion. The play-within-a-play consists of four one-act works, each a pastiche of a well-worn theatrical genre: murder mystery, French bedroom farce, epic literary adaptation, and the Bard of Avon himself, William Shakespeare. Arch line readings, missed cues and late entrances occur at an exponential rate until extreme chaos overtakes the proceedings. The four pieces are framed by introductory bits from Darren McGee and director Amy Lewis, in nicely observed performances as the church minister and his wife. The concept is juicy and fertile but also riddled with pitfalls that this production, unfortunately, doesn't always avoid. It is a tricky task to portray such theatrical ineptitude without inadvertently stumbling into the real thing. A performer playing a "bad" actor needs to be anchored to the truth of the scene as certainly as in any great drama or they risk abandoning the skills that serve them so well in other productions. This dynamic was especially true during the first act, as the clumsy slapstick derailed any genuine wit and humor and became mired in an all-too-real awkwardness. Just to be aware of the joke and play it with a wink and a nod allows otherwise good actors to flounder through scenes with little or no focus. Even "coarse acting" requires commitment and understanding of the moment being experienced by the character. Luckily, there was enough of this quality on display in the work of Craig Nolan Highley and Tiffany Taylor to keep the work from sinking entirely. After intermission, things improved significantly, with a loopy adaptation of Moby Dick that allowed the talent of the cast to shine through. Sydney Hymson and Tim Gooch as the actors portraying Ishmael and Ahab were splendidly funny, and the delicious Meg Caudill was almost certainly the first "sexy" Queequeg in theatrical history. Staged with bargain-basement cardboard props and a great white whale consisting primarily of bed linens, you will not soon forget this comically truncated version of the classic tale. The final act is an effective, if somewhat obvious, pastiche of creaky plot devices from Shakespeare. Of course the story includes young lovers separated while the girl masquerades as a young boy. In the funniest, most adroit piece of physical comedy of the entire evening, Bryce Woodard, as the young man, finally recognizes his true love (Ms. Caudill again) when her posture emphasizes a particular body part. The moment works so perfectly because the two actors play the scene with commitment to the characters and not with any awareness of the "coarse acting" that they are engendering. This is also true of the strong work from Nick Smith, who is given a wonderful final moment to play in this last piece. Ultimately, the play works because it improves steadily enough to build to its greatest impact. The first act timing is off, and the staging is often clumsier than the premise would seem to require, but the second act manages to deliver on the promise of the concept and contain enough winning aspects to carry the day.
The Coarse Acting Show
|
|