October began at the Repertory Theater with One Man, Two Guvnors, based on Carlo Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters, and ended at SIU-Edwardsville with Goldoni’s original commedia play. It was enlightening to see both in such a short timespan. The characters in commedia dell’arte, or improvised comedy, concern themselves with the economics and social standings of their day. The main character in each, respectively, Francis Henshall (Raymond McAnally) and Truffaldino (Josh Funneman), had extensive ‘improvisational’ sequences and were responsible for the funniest scenes, but both plays suffer from excessive slapstick and jokes about the male anatomy, falling too far into jejune comedy for my taste. Nonetheless, kudos at The Rep go to Austin Bohmer for subtle comedy in the midst of excess and Evan Zes for precise and delightful pratfalls.
The most successful of the five plays we saw this month has to be The Diary of Anne Frank, which continues at the New Jewish Theatre through Nov. 2. Depressing in its tale, especially when you realize just how close everyone was to getting out alive, it features a fine ensemble in a story of hope, love and a quest for justice. Samantha Moyer as Anne leads this ensemble resplendent with talented actors, including Bobby Miller and Amy Loui (Anne’s parents)—but there is not a weak link in the cast. Gary Wayne Barker directs with a clear and deft hand, often infusing the show with such joy that you almost forget how it will end. Michele Friedman Siler’s costumes are beautifully period, and Jim Burwinkel’s set and Maureen Berry’s lights are striking. The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the best ensemble shows I’ve seen in a very long time.
Upstream Theater, one of the city’s most thought-provoking companies, gives us Antigone, the last of the Theban plays in a trilogy by Sophocles. My main criticism is that Antigone is a play of ideas and civil disobedience and their place in a law-abiding society. The new translation by David R. Slavitt gives us such informal language that the civil disobedience becomes lost in the greater flaw of Creon’s pettiness as a ruler. The evening was mixed, some elements worked beautifully: Creon’s (Peter Mayer) impassioned speech over his dead son, the tribal vibe of the chorus and the silent, sorrowful walk of Eurydice (Wendy Renee Greenwood) upon hearing of the death of her son all compete with a bit of scenery chewing, a mishmash of costumes, and an inexplicable, inappropriate Suzuki walk during Antigone’s monologue, (with the only connection apparently being some Suzuki training of the actor).
Playing currently at The Rep through Nov. 9 is Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This dream starts dark, and lightens slowly along the way to the final, very funny, play-within-the-play. No starring roles here, the ensemble is tight and precise, but I will admit to favoring an enchanting Hermia (Webster University senior Caroline Amos) and a magical pairing of Oberon and Puck (Alvin Keith and Jim Poulos). Costumes by Susan Branch Towne are a highlight, especially Hippolyta’s wedding dress, which is simply stunning. James Kronzer (sets) and Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz (lights) create a forest that is a delight of modern fantasy.
[on the marquee]
>> A Kid Like Jake – Studio Theatre at the Rep – Oct. 29 – Nov. 16
>> Le nozze di Figaro – Winter Opera St. Louis –Nov. 7 and 9
>> All Is Calm – Mustard seed Theatre – Nov. 14 – Dec. 14
>> A Raisin in the Sun – The Black Rep – Nov. 28 – Dec. 21
Pictured: Samantha Moyer and Bobby Miller in The Diary of Anne Frank
Photo: John Lamb
