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Regional Reviews: San Francisco Two British Farces Also see Part One and Part Three of Richard's OSF Reviews This season, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is presenting two British farces which are entirely different from one another in their time and place. Wild Oats by John O'Keeffe was first performed in 1791 and takes place in Hampshire, while Present Laughter by Noel Coward was first presented in 1943 and takes place in London. Both have that wonderful English farce running them; Oats is low comedy and naïve at its finest, while Laughter is sophisticated banter and wit at its greatest.
John O'Keeffe wrote more than sixty plays in his lifetime, but Wild Oats is the only farce that has survived. It was lost in time before being revived in 1976 by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Since then, the comedy has enjoyed great success in the United Kingdom and in the United States. Wild Oats was also presented at the OSF in 1981 to great triumph. There have been six different versions of the play since it was first written, and the company at the OSF is using the 1808 script. Wild Oats is a rollicking frolic about love, money and innocence running amok. It is almost impossible to tell the plot of this fast paced low comedy since it involves mistaken identities, misinterpreted actions and unlikely occurrences. There are gangs of hooligans roaming the countryside, an attempt to put on the Bard's As You Like It with household servants playing the actors, and a search for a lost son by an old admiral who looks like he should be in a Gilbert and Sullivan musical. This is a brilliant and maniacal production that is a wild roller coaster ride of fun and laughter. John O'Keefe is in love with the theater and Shakespeare, illustrated by his lead character - a strolling player who constantly misquotes the Bard's words throughout the play. Gregory Linington plays the actor Jack Rover, an endearing charmer who struts, poses and repeatedly delivers lines from Shakespeare's plays, often mixing up the quotes. This is ham acting at its finest. John Pribyl as John Dory, a former pilot and boson and now a valet de chamber to Sir George (Michael J. Hume), is a strange creation of a comic genius. His walking and dancing are hilarious. Michael J. Hume is properly pompous as the old admiral trying to find his lost son Harry Thunder (Jeff Cummings). Richard Elmore as a Hampshire farmer is broadly venal in his role. Mark Murphy is properly unctuous as a sly Quaker who thinks he is holier than anyone but converts the farmer's pretty daughter Jane (Julie Oda). Linda Morris plays Lady Amaranth who has a lovely but weak voice. Wild Oats is currently playing on the outside Elizabethan Theatre through October 11.
I have seen this sophisticated and smart play many times in the past. I have seen all sorts of actors portray the flamboyant and self-centered actor, Garry Essendine. I first saw the play in New York at the Belasco Theatre with Noel Coward himself playing the lead. Eva Gabor played Joanna in this 1958 production. I also saw Present Laughter at the Circle in the Square in the fall of 1982 with George C. Scott playing Garry. This was the first time I saw the young actor Nathan Lane, in his first Broadway role, as the brash young playwright Roland Maule. Later I saw Frank Langella as Garry in 1996 at the Walter Kerr. I also saw Donald Sinden play the lead at the Globe in London. Present Laughter by the OSF is a mixed bag, with Brent Harris taking the role of ostentatious actor Garry Essendine. He plays the role completely over the top, almost to the point of irritation. His Garry is vain, ill-tempered and very inconsiderate. He has a considerable appetite for wine, women and sleeping in late. Garry has a string of adhering admirers, including the wonderful, obsessive playwright Maule, played by a brilliant bouncy, bombastic Christopher DuVal. Kim Rhodes is delightful as the bimbo type one night stand who Garry cannot seem to ditch. Robin Goodrin Nordli is first rate as the predatory Joanna, giving the best performance in this farce. Suzanne Irving is great as the ex-wife of Garry who seems to have a level head on her shoulders. Eileen DeSandre is a laugh riot as the no-nonsense secretary to the actor. The comedy gets a little frantic at times and sometimes it becomes too fast paced to really be appreciated. Some of the characters become overly broad, especially the Essendine character. The set by Richard Hay is beautifully detailed for a courteous London living room, probably in the Mayfair district. There are a many objets d'art, trophies and photographs of the actor. You can see that Garry is a self-absorbed creature. This is light fare but fun. Present Laughter runs at the Angus Bowmer theatre through November 1. For tickets call 541-482-4331 or visit www.osfashland.org. |