Freezing winds and sausage assaults Freezing winds and sausage assaults (June 10, 2005)

Skilled actors do their best with dated 'Rascal'

by Jeanie Forte

Menlo Players Guild partners each year with Festival Theatre Ensemble of Los Gatos to bring the classics to life.

This year's season includes three shows: "That Rascal Scapin," an adaptation of the Moliere classic written and directed by Amy Himes; Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," directed by FTE Artistic Director Bruce W. De Les Dernier, and "King Lear," starring De Les Dernier in the title role with direction shared by him and Himes.

The ensemble is noted for its repertoire of talented actors, a reputation that was certainly confirmed by last weekend's performance of "Scapin." They're energetic and obviously enjoying themselves on stage in Moliere's classic farce.

Nika Ericson plays the rogue Scapin with such mugging and vigor that she almost carries the show by herself. But the other principal actors, notably James Asea as Argante and Mark W. Jordan as Geronte, manage to match her energy and liveliness.

Unfortunately, the show overall doesn't add up to much. The humor falls oddly flat and unfunny, in spite of the cast's Herculean efforts. The plot is somewhat amusing, albeit predictable. It feels dated, what with sausage-whacking and simplistic scenarios of trickery and revenge.

The predictability of the plot was probably a given even in Moliere's day -- the humor therefore needs to derive from the stage action, the realization of all the sight gags and Scapin's antics. Himes' direction is very tame in this regard, almost devoid of the physical pyrotechnics usually associated with this kind of farce. Instead, the secondary characters are on stage a lot, carrying on various subplots or doing random cartwheels or contributing to the main action. I found this distracting at best and too often annoying.

I wanted to find the show funnier, because the actors were so talented, and working so hard at being funny -- but it simply wasn't there. We needed more physical comedy: pratfalls, near-misses, and double-takes. A quicker pace overall would have helped, too; currently, it feels as if it's geared to the very young.

I have to be fair and say that some people in the audience laughed at the sausage whackings. Maybe I wasn't laughing because I was trying hard not to freeze. The venue, Mid-Peninsula High School's back field, is located near the Bay where the winds can be fierce. FTE concessionaires hand out blankets to audience members, but if you're smart you'll dress like you're going skiing, bring several blankets, and wear woolen underwear.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.