The Art of Comedy
The full title of this ribald, period comedy is (I guess,
since I don’t speak or read Spanish and there was no translation in the
program) “Astucias Por HEREDAR un sobrina a un tio” written by Fermin de
Reygadas Vitorica and directed and mask designs by Robi Arce. It is playing at their space, 525 SE Stark
St. (parking can be a challenge in this area), through March 3rd. For more information, go to their site at www.milagro.org or call 503-236-7253.
Humor is very much an individual and/or cultural
“sport.” To put it simply, what is funny
to one person may not be to another. And
in Period plays of this broad humor, from the times of the Greeks and Romans, to
Shakespeare, through Vaudeville, to the Marx Brothers & Three Stooges and
beyond (the musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” is a
good example of this type of comedy), a couple of items seemed universal in
their themes—Social & Political Satire.
And so it is with this type of theatre, Commedia dell’Arte.
The common elements seem to be masks (or exaggerated
make-ups), slapstick, bawdy (and body)/physical humor, rapid-fire delivery,
asides, and plenty of mime, madcap mischief and music. This production has all of those colorful
elements. But you also need people who
understand how to present this art form.
And, we’re in luck with this cast, director and writer, who have
captured all the nuisances with bold strokes and sparing no feelings. It is gutsy and gritty and a pie-in-the-face
to all those who think they are better than anyone else. It is not accidental that the servants in
these stories are often the wise fools who, although tripping over their own
feet much of the time, will expose hypocrisy in all its ugly glory!
The story is of a very rich and ditzy uncle, Don Lucas (Yan
Collazo) of a family, and who is, we suppose, on his last legs and his
inheritance is up for grabs. But he has
a desire or two left that he pointedly wants to release before he passes into
that netherworld. One desire being, who
to leave his vast fortune to: his poor
relatives, his faithful servants, or his devoted nephew, Don Pedro (Enrique
Andrade). His second, more pressing
desire, is to marry a teenage girl, Doña Isabel (Marian Méndez)—not the
sharpest knife in the drawer--that he’s taken a fancy to. But her heart (and other related parts) has
been given to his nephew. And her greedy
mother, Doña Teresa (Bibiana Lorenzo Johnston), is all too willing to give her
consent.
Meanwhile, back at the hacienda, his two servants, the
winsome, Lucia (Verónika Nuñez) and the wily, Crispin (Carlos Adrián Mananzo),
have been conniving, with the rest of the players, on how to get their own
large share of the whole enchilada, even resorting to role-playing (Mananzo) of
poor relatives, and even the uncle himself at one point. And assorted other characters are revealed,
such as the ladies’ servant, a doctor, a clerk, etc. (all wonderfully portrayed
by Sara Fay Goldman). To discover the
outcome, you’ll just have to see it.
But, be warned, the humor is definitely of the PG-13 type and could
offend some people.
The success of this show lies in the presentation and they
know exactly what they’re doing in that regard.
The masks by Arce are terrific and very much of the period. And his direction, keeping the rather verbose
story moving at a rapid pace, is amazing, the actors must be exhausted by the
end. The actors are all very resourceful
and understand this genre to a tee. And
the clever set (Blanca Forzán) and changes, added to its success. The only thing disconcerting to this gringo,
not being able to speak the language, as it’s all performed in Spanish, is the
annoyance of having to read the English sub-titles and missing some of the
intricate humor. But that is my bad, not
theirs.
I recommend this show.
If you do choose to see it, please tell them Dennis sent you.
--DJS
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