THEATRE REVIEW: "See How They Run" at Lamb's Players Theatre

“They Run” Quite Well

Strong acting elevates Philip King’s old-fashioned, humorous tour-de-farce

By Donnie Matsuda

When See How They Run opened in London’s West End in 1945, life was quite different than it is today. 

World War II had terrorized Europe for years and London was a drab and exhausted city, largely defeated but ready to begin the long and arduous process of rebuilding from the ground up.  It is perhaps no surprise that many Londoners escaped to the theatre to lift their spirits and those who attended the premiere of See How They Run got a special surprise.  During the opening night performance, several flying bombs exploded just outside the theatre.  But despite the chaos around them, not one of the audience members left the play, as they were transfixed by the hilarity and high jinks onstage.  While such a thing could probably not happen today, Lamb's Players current revival of this charming, chuckle-inducing play does what it can to inject a few laughs into a mostly delightful evening of theatre.

Brendan Farley, Cynthia Gerber, and Jim Chovick in Lamb's Players "See How They Run."  Photo by Ken Jacques.

The play, written by Philip King and directed by Lamb’s Players Producing Artistic Director Robert Smyth, is set in an English vicarage circa 1944 (here majestically recreated by Mike Buckley’s spacious living room set sprawled out in front of a giant British flag).  As the story goes, Penelope Toop (a bubbly and warm Cynthia Gerber) has given up her exciting life as a famed actress and is now living a more *ahem* “respectable” life as the devoted wife of Reverend Lionel Toop (a calm and collected Jason Heil who soon sheds his sanity along with his clothes and spends most of the play in his boxers and wielding a golf club).  Unfortunately, many of the townsfolk don’t approve of Penelope’s wild ways, and it all comes to a head when the meddlesome town gossip Miss Skillon (a prim Myra McWethy) comes banging on the vicarage door to inquire about why she wasn’t allowed to decorate the church pulpit, as she has done in years past.  Somehow, she ends up unconscious, drugged into a stupor by an overdose of cooking sherry, and crammed into a coat closet with the Reverend himself…and that’s all before intermission!

Myra McWethy and Jason Heil.  Photo by Ken Jacques.

Meanwhile, Penelope has her own madcap misadventures as her old acting partner Cliff (a dashing Brendan Farley) shows up unannounced and quickly piques the interest of Ida (a flirty Kerry Meads), the vicarage’s saucy Cockney maid.  As farce would have it, Cliff must disguise his military persona if he is to go out into civilian life, so he dons one of the vicar’s suits and goes out for a night on the town with Penelope.  And since mistaken identity is so crucial to plays of this sort, King makes sure there are plenty of opportunities for that to occur.  As if two vicars wasn’t enough, he adds to the mix another legit vicar, the Reverend Arthur Humphrey (an appropriately demure Paul Maley), a visiting bishop who arrives for his stay a day early (a befuddled Jim Chovick), and a Russian intruder (an eerie Jeffery Jones) who disguises himself as – you guessed it – a vicar.        

This might seem like a few too many vicars for the play’s own good, but it all comes together quite nicely under Robert Smyth’s crisp direction.  What is so delightful about Smyth’s staging is that he nimbly approaches his cast as though they are normal people who get trapped in outrageous situations.  That’s exactly what you need if an old-fashioned farce filled with silly scenarios is to come across as credible, engaging, and ultimately, entertaining.  And Smyth’s veteran ensemble cast succeeds in taking the preposterous and making it plausible, all the while featuring some incredibly fine performances, a handful of brilliantly staged comedic sequences, and a number of truly hysterical moments. 

Kerry Meads, Paul Maley and Myra McWethy.  Photo by Ken Jacques.

All in all, See How They Run is an extremely amusing play and while there may not be flying bombs being dropped outside the theatre doors, the audiences for this Lamb's Players production will no doubt stay and be treated to an enjoyable, laugh-out-loud evening of hilarious high jinks and madcap merriment.

Things to know before you go: See How They Run plays at Lambs Players Theatre through September 23rd, 2012.  Running time is Three Acts in 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission.  Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm.  Ticket prices are $26-$64.  For more information or to purchase tickets, call (619) 437-6000 or visit www.lambsplayers.org.

THEATRE REVIEW: "The Turn of the Screw" at Intrepid Shakespeare Company

A Well-Oiled “Screw”

Intrepid Shakespeare Company gets the mood and macabre right in its briskly staged revival

By Donnie Matsuda

If death comes in threes, then perhaps ghosts come in twos.

At least that’s the case in The Turn of the Screw, an old fashioned English ghost story that was originally penned by Henry James in 1898 and later adapted for the stage by Jeffrey Hatcher in 1996. It is an eerie tale that spins its wicked web of intrigue and imagined spirits two by two. First, there are the play’s two main characters: The Man, played by Intrepid Shakespeare Company Co-Artistic Director and Co-Founder Sean Cox, who covers a number of supporting roles (including an ominous uncle who wants his niece and nephew looked after, a goosy housekeeper Mrs. Grose, and a bright but misunderstood teenage boy named Miles) and The Governess, played by Intrepid Shakespeare Company Co-Artistic Director and Co-Founder Christy Yael, who is brought to the barren country estate of Bly under the most mysterious of circumstances.

There, she is to care for two children: a teenage boy named Miles who was expelled from his boarding school for “corrupt” practices and a precious young girl named Flora who is so utterly haunted or so utterly shy (or both) that she can’t even speak a word. And the fascination with terrifying twosomes continues as the Governess begins to uncover more puzzling and disturbing details about the history of Bly manor. She learns from the estate’s bumbling housekeeper Mrs. Grose that the previous governess Miss Jessel and the manor’s valet Peter Quint (who together were quite a pair, apparently) mysteriously went missing and subsequently turned up dead. Soon, the Governess begins to see and hear the ghosts of these two house servants and becomes increasingly convinced that they are there to terrify and corrupt the innocence of the two children in her care.

Christy Yael and Sean Cox. Photo courtesy of Intrepid Shakespeare Company.

Of course, whether these ghostly visions are real or simply exist in the pent-up psyche of the Governess is a matter still debated to this day. In the play, we see everything though the eyes of the crazed Governess and witness both her real life interactions with the children and Mrs. Grose, while also hearing her verbalize the narrative-based thoughts racing through her head. Hatcher’s tightly-wound 75-minute script heightens the tale’s horror by focusing on the psychological drama and emotional trauma of the piece, but at the end of the play, it offers no real answers or easy solutions. It goes out on a limb in some respects, but doesn’t quite have the gripping, terrifying, and suspenseful quality one would expect from a chilling emotional thriller.

Fortunately, however, Intrepid Shakespeare Company’s production knows how to set the scene properly for this eerie tale and while it can’t completely overcome the lack of tense trepidation in the script, it still manages to tease and taunt with its creepy seduction. Most of its success is due to the two bravura performances delivered by the dynamic duo of husband-and-wife Sean Cox and Christy Yael. Yael captures both the dry wit and mounting hysteria of the Governess perfectly, while Cox shows off his versatility as he masterfully morphs from one supporting character to the next and then back again in the near blink of an eye. Together, these two terrific actors play off each other with an ease and eeriness that brings out the best (and the worst) in this quintessential ghost story.

Christy Yael and Sean Cox. Photo courtesy of Intrepid Shakespeare Company.

Director Jason Heil also deserves credit here for stepping back and allowing the trancelike tale to do its own seductive storytelling. As he strips away the conventions of the typical ghost story genre (there are no creaky doors or paranormal phenomena here), he instead relies on the talents of his two formidable actors and the ripe imaginations of his audience members to lend more than mere substance to the shadows. Heil’s brisk staging is further aided by a first rate technical team, which showcases simple stagecraft at its finest. Matt Scott surrounds his multi-level platform set in black curtains and allows the three-quarters-in-the-round audience to experience the intimacy and darkness that this haunting and harrowing play demands. And lighting designer Jason Beiber does a stellar job at casting the right shadows and coloring the right moods, while costume designer Beth Merriman features her ghoulishly Gothic creations to the sinister sounds of Adam Brick’s sound design.

With great economy, Intrepid Shakespeare Company manages to capture the macabre mood and ambiguous ambience that is at the heart of Hatcher’s play. While it may not be the most profound piece of theatre, it’s still a formidable Turn for the small Encinitas-based company and it is proof positive that two is always better than one.

Things to know before you go: The Turn of the Screw presented by Intrepid Shakespeare Company plays at The Clayton E. Liggett Theatre at 800 Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas through April 15, 2012. Running time is 75 minutes with no intermission. Performances are Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm; Sundays at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets are $25 with discounts available for students, seniors, and military. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (760) 652-5011 or visit www.intrepidshakespeare.com.