Reviews: Theater We….Like

Eric Ankrim and Sydney Andrews in “Bloomsday”.
Photo: Chris Bennion/ACT

Review: Bloomsday by Steven Dietz. Directed by Kurt Beattie. With Sydney Andrews, Eric Ankrim, Peter Crook, Marianne Owen. Now through October 11, 2015 at ACT.

Every year I see about 80 to 100 stage works and they roughly fall into 4 categories. A tiny percentage are really excellent. Another tiny percentage are really bad. A much larger percentage are just…there. Not bad enough to be really bad…just banal and a waste of time.

And, then there’s productions that are good/goodish but there’s just something that doesn’t push it to the next level. Maybe, it’s the tone. Or, directorial choices. Or, a piece of bad casting. A strong production of a play you hate. It could be just ONE scene that messes it all up. Or, some odd design choice. Maybe the sound design was off putting. Or….well, anything.

(And, of course, it’s all subjective. The strange casting of one role might not bother another viewer of the show. Some people don’t really pay attention to design elements. A few odd ducks still LOVE Neil Simon!!!)

First up: ACT’s world premiere of semi-local playwright Steven Dietz’s new play Bloomsday. Mr. Dietz has had most of his plays premiered or at least produced at ACT including a very successful production of Yankee Tavern back in 2010. That play was a taut thriller but Bloomsday is more of a time trippy romance in the vein of the old Christopher Reeve/Jane Seymour film “Somewhere in Time”.

Bloomsday has only two characters, but 4 actors. The trick is, we see the two characters at two separate moments in their timelines….today-ish and 40 years ago. Both timelines take place in Dublin, Ireland and in the heart of old literary Dublin as the plot focuses on two young people who “meet cute” on a walking tour inspired by James Joyce’s epic novel “Ulysses”. Caithleen is the fiery and emotional local lass giving the tour and Robbie is the cocky American boy in pursuit of her. Despite the fact it seems like they should end up “happily ever after”, they don’t and decades later the two attempt to mend their “romance full of regret” by somehow interacting with their 40 years ago selves.

It’s a sweet trick and cleverly plotted and designed by Dietz as “Old Robert” woos “Young Caithleen” and “Old Cait” attempts to warn “Young Robbie” of the perils of their romance, as all the various permutations of “old” meaning “young” and one another are explored. The actors are strong, too with excellent chemistry between Peter Crook and Marianne Owen as the older pair, and Sydney Andrews and Eric Ankrim as the younger duo. It’s also outgoing Artistic Director Kurt Beatty’s final show as a director, and he also does a fine job of staging the actors and their numerous exits and entrances.

Everything about this show is well done, including all the design and tech work. It’s a very solid production of an interesting and clever play with strong work from everybody involved.

But, I can’t love it.

I’ll recommend it to people who LIKE and enjoy solidly safe productions, what I like to call “Hallmark Hall of Fame” type of theater after the beloved television series of mostly dramatic specials that aired on television for many, many years that was sponsored by Hallmark cards. Some people think I’m being denigrating when I refer to such work, but I’m really not…I liked many of the shows on the Hallmark Hall of Fame! They produced outstanding, quality work! Just like this production of Bloomsday.

But, it IS a bit on the safe side. There’s not a lot of actual tension or drama here. It’s all very….”nice”. There’s not much grit or energy in this show. It’s a melancholy, “meet cute” romance safe for the whole family. If you like such theater, then by all means please support this superb example of nice, safe, family friendly theater. I just can’t get too passionate about it….it’s a show I can safely say I never need to see again. Despite its high levels of professionalism and polish, it’s just not a show meant for ME. And, there’s nothing wrong with that. Not every show is meant for everyone to enjoy equally.

Kevin Kelly and Arjun Pande are “separated at birth” in Seattle Shakes’ “The Comedy of Errors”.
Photo: John Ulman

Review: The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. Produced by Seattle Shakespeare Company. Directed by Jane Nichols. With Julie Briskman, Samie Spring Detzer, Kate Kraay, Linda K. Morris, David Brown King, Jay Myers, Kevin Kelly, Arjun Pande, Michael Patten and Todd Jefferson Moore. Now through October 11, 2015 at Seattle Rep’s Leo K. Theatre.

Meanwhile, across town at Seattle Center, there’s a different kind of nice show going on. Seattle Shakespeare Company is taking a vacation from their usual home at the Center House/Amory theater and moving a few hundred yards away over to Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Leo K. space for their production of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, his slapstick heavy, early comedy that’s frequently produced or adapted for other works, largely due to its beloved “mistaken identity/twins separated at birth” plot line.

In a nutshell, and since I HATE writing synopsis, we’ll refer to our buddies at Wikipedia for the basic plot:

The Comedy of Errors tells the story of two sets of identical twins that were accidentally separated at birth. Antipholus of Syracuse and his servant, Dromio of Syracuse, arrive in Ephesus, which turns out to be the home of their twin brothers, Antipholus of Ephesus and his servant, Dromio of Ephesus. When the Syracusans encounter the friends and families of their twins, a series of wild mishaps based on mistaken identities lead to wrongful beatings, a near-seduction, the arrest of Antipholus of Ephesus, and false accusations of infidelity, theft, madness, and demonic possession.

It’s an ideal Shakespeare play to produce since it’s short, lightweight and lots of fun with plenty of opportunities for shtick and sight gags. Seattle Shakes was hip to that idea, so hired local commedia dell’arte specialist Jane Nichols to direct this opening play for their 2015/16 season. On paper, that made perfect sense since the play is full of jokes, pratfalls and carefully timed exits and entrances and Ms Nichols IS very skilled at creating and staging the physical comedy so important to this play.

And, this production is frequently very, very funny with the physical “shtick” being the chief delight of this show. Right from the get go there’s some funny business involving actors and the huge pendulum of a clock that’s a primary piece of the set design. Many of the actors also seem to get very enthusiastic about the physical comedy aspects of their roles with the terrific duo of Kevin Kelly and Arjun Pande excelling as the servant twins, the two Dromios. They’re well supported by their two masters, David Brown King and Jay Myers as the two Antipholuses, though they get less physical business to do.

The entire cast is having a good time here with especially strong work from the women in the show: Linda K. Morris as a shrewish wife; Samie Spring Detzer as a comely maiden; Kate Kraay as a conniving mistress and the always delightful Julie Briskman as the mysterious Abbess.

The show looks pretty good, too. This production has been set in 1960s Greece, ala vintage comedy caper movies of that time period, with delicious costume designs by Pete Rush. The set is colorful and nicely designed by Craig Wollam, albeit a bit too sparse and bare (and frugal) of a set for the richer confines of the Leo K. It’s too bad Seattle Shakes didn’t have a bit more budget for set pieces.

So, what’s the problem with this show? It’s a colorful delight with some very funny comedy business from a delightful cast!

But, it also bogs down whenever there isn’t any “shtick” on stage to delight the eye. Any scene that just involves conversation or monologue tends to drag and bore. The prime example of that, would be the loooooooong, tedious exposition monologue that poor Todd Jefferson Moore has to spit out at the very beginning of the play, that details the complicated back story of how the twins came to be originally separated. He hasn’t been given any business to do, so it’s just a really long dull recitation; it’s bewildering why some sort of amusing business wasn’t created to help illustrate the story and enliven the proceedings. Some puppetry or animation might have been used here, or even just other actors hammishly acting out the story. SOMETHING rather than that long recitation!!

And, that happens several times through out the night…some funny business followed by some rather dull “straight” dialogue scenes. It seems like Ms Nichols does have a great gift for inspiring some lovely physical comedy moments in her productions, but less of a gift when it comes to crafting strong moments of actual dramatic/comedic acting without those physical moments. It’s a bit of an artistic and emotional roller coaster.

Again, this production does have a lot going for it (the physical comedy; some of the performances; the costumes) but other elements do detract. It’s a bit of a up/down “grade” from me with “A Grades” for some elements and “C and D Grades” for others. I’ll err on the side of the positive and give it a “Recommended” with a reservation or two…or, three.