Sunday, March 30, 2008
A+E, Theater, Reviews
Controlled chaos
Farcical comedy rewards your ‘Indulgence’
CREDIT: Linnea Frye
René Dellefont (Fleance) and Tim Stoltenberg (Malcolm) in “Indulgences” at Dad’s Garage.
“INDULGENCES”
Dad’s Garage
$10-$20
404-523-3141
www.dadsgarage.com
Through April 12
By Bert Osborne
Were there such a thing as tri-polar disorder, playwright Chris Craddock would probably have it. There’s a whimsical, infectious method to his madness in “Indulgences,” a farcical meditation on human desires and spiritual journeys that has Craddock juggling (and quickly commingling) three principal storylines, any one of which could’ve made for its own comedy. Although most of the proceedings are plain silly, they dabble in just enough substance to raise things to a higher level.
Under the crackerjack direction of artistic director Kate Warner, and performed to the hilt by a deft ensemble of familiar faces, resistance to the Dad’s Garage show is fairly futile. The tireless Matthew Myers centers the play as a fast-talking, hard-drinking, other-dimensional Salesman, dealing in afterlife insurance policies of sorts (with a direct link to God, no less). The actor pitches an early diatribe on sin and absolution with great humor and gusto, but later he also honors comparatively quieter speeches about “reinforcing free will” and “ineffable leap(s) of faith.”
Among the latest “clients” he picks up at a (seemingly modern-day) local bar: Man 1 (Chris Blair) and Man 2 (Tony Larkin), who casually agree to swap lives—in body and soul—if only because they can, and nobody else is any the wiser. The one is a lofty king, who leaves behind his riches, his sexually frustrated queen and his gay prince of a son, not to mention sundry murder plots. The second is a lowly engineer, whose biggest problem might be having a daughter who’s failing math.
And then enter Malcolm (Tim Stoltenberg) and Fleance (Rene Dellefont), whom you may recall as supporting characters from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” Or not. Here, they’ve been reimagined as that gay prince and his “ill-chosen mate,” with their own reasons for selling their souls to the Salesman. The sudden stylistic shifts to Elizabethan costumes and vocabulary add another clever layer to the controlled chaos. (In her program notes, Warner praises the play as a “statement on gay marriage,” but that isn’t always easy to buy coming from this pair of swishy caricatures. They barely keep a straight face pleading for an end to the “censure of unconventional love.”)
George Faughnan (who also designed the stately set) and Amber Nash round out the cast, which largely consists of members from Dad’s improv company. They all make the most of the naughty innuendos running rampant in Craddock’s bizarre universe, and with their specialized training they’re more than physically fit to handle his frantic pace—hitting their stride from the get-go and finally reaching a feverish peak in a series of funny “instant replays.” Besides the enterprising Myers, particular mention should be made of the usually dour Larkin (“The Last Night of Ballyhoo”), a Dad’s first-timer who holds his own with unexpected comic flair. SP
DULY NOTED:
Speaking of indulgences, Atlanta Shakespeare’s mostly compelling "Of Mice and Men" (directed by Maurice Ralston) is singularly marred by another inept performance from company mainstay Drew Reeves, whose many years of service presumably entitle him to play George, even though there’s nothing in his body of work to suggest he’s qualified for the role—and he isn’t, typically confusing world-weary desperation for high-strung hysterics. It’s a shame, because everything else about the show functions admirably: Travis Smith’s nicely understated, deeply felt Lennie; a uniformly competent supporting cast (Doug Kaye stands out, but it’s good to see all these same actors getting away from the usual Tavern shtick); Mark Schroeder’s musical interludes; Lorraine Lombardi’s evocative lighting; and special kudos to Jeff Watkins’ marvelous set design. Through April 6. 404-874-5299. www.shakespearetavern.com.