Review: The Gypsy King at The Village Theatre
The Village theatre opened March 8 with the world premiere musical comedy, The Gypsy King, written by Randy Rogel, who is an old friend of the Seattle theatre scene. This play was initially presented in the theatre’s Village Originals Festival of New Musicals and generated an enormous amount of buzz and audience acclaim. Director Richard Gray has been with the show for some time, having directed the first festival readings at the Village Theatre in 2008.
The Gypsy King, Frederick (Eric Ankrim), along with his father Leo, are down-at-the-heel, acting and singing as a duo but have the misfortune of a run-in with the royal guard outside the King’s castle. The upside of this is that Frederick meets a young lady, Anisette (Katherine Strohmaier) that he finds delightful and is able to help her avoid a forced marriage. To make this whole situation even more of an adventure, Frederick has a close, very close resemblance to the very arrogant, (I am all that) King of the country, King Alfonse.
The action is fast physical comedy with a classic vaudeville feel and in scenes with the King and Frederick switching sides are so agile that the audience never actual can catch the exchanges. Believe me I was trying, very funny stuff. The villains, Sergei (Richard Ziman), Godfried (Nick DeSantis) and Gielgud (Mark Carr), plan the deaths of the King and Frederick and hilariously want to tie it all together with the musical number, “The Plot”.
Basically in this plot to take over the throne they are going to put in a prince look-a-like and take the prince out of harms way. Then they knock off the real prince when he is out of the sight of his people, and get the body double (who looks like the real prince) to sign a proclamation that says Sergui is second in line for the throne. Once the look-a-like prince signs the proclamation he will also knock him off, and naturally ascend to the throne. Sounds simple doesn’t it?
With a cast of 18, the set production and staging is vital for the singing and dancing that happens on stage. The set includes a castle, a ship, a moat and hidden doorways and it all comes together with wonderful deft handling by the production team for this show.
Special mention needs to be made for Eric Ankrim, who as Frederick/Prince Alfonse has been with the show in this role since the first festival reading back in 2008. His role is such a acrobatic balancing act that he carries off with perfect timing throughout the play.
Village Theatres World Premiere of Emmy Award-winner Randy Rogel’s musical, The Gypsy King runs March 8 – April 25, 2010 in downtown Issaquah and April 30 – May 23, 2010 in downtown Everett. Tickets range from $19-$59 and can be purchased at www.villagetheatre.org.
– Ethel W.
