ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Friday, June 28, 2013 • tacomaweekly.com • Section B • Page 3
LAKEWOOD’S ‘IMPORTANCE’ ‘Spamalot’ hams it up GOES WILDE WELL at Paradise Theatre
PHOTO BY DEAN LAPIN
SEATED. Algernon (Andrew Kittrell) and (in window) Cecily (Cassie
Fastabend) and Gwendolen (Deya Ozburn) star in the Lakewood Playhouse production of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest.� By Steve Dunkelberger stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com
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owerfully nuanced acting in Lakewood Playhouse’s staging of “The Importance of Being Earnest� brings the 118-year-old play to the current day without losing its heritage. Oscar Wilde’s farcical comedy, after all, had created the formula of compounding white lies into mistaken identities and fast-talking that pretty much every modern sitcom uses to this day. On one level, the play is a comedy, while on another, it is a biting commentary about social norms told through the adventures of two well-travelled men about town who use fictional “cover stories� to live separate lives in the country than they do in the city. Their separate ruses come to light when they inadvertently merge lies and struggle to keep them straight when they fall in love along the way. The trick to staging a British “period piece� of this caliber is that while the script is a proven hit, weak acting in a show that is so word heavy could bring ruin. The play lacks fight scenes, deep drama and over-the-top comical lines machine gunned from the stage. It just rolls along with giggles here and there brought by subtle delivery and strategic eye rolls and nods. Unskilled actors and untrained directors could miss the moments. Such is not the case with Lakewood’s show. Director Marilyn Bennett’s doctoral work
in Theatre History and Criticism was well used in staging this season-ending show. Each scene seems to have been hammered and folded and hammered again to forge a sharp sword of theatrical awesomeness. The multi-layered lines were allowed to soak and age to perfection. At the center of the awesomeness are John Worthing (played by Bryan K. Bender) and Algernon Moncrieff (Andrew Kittrell), who find themselves in love with Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax (Deya Ozburn) and Cecily Cardew (Cassie Jo Fastabend), respectively. The trouble is, their loves know them both as Ernest, their cover story names. Their portrayals are three dimensionally realistic but over the top in their hilarity. Fastabend is just adorable as the youthful but cutting ward in love, and Ozburn owns the stage every time she does a period piece. This show continues that trend. Wilde must have had a premonition five generations ago that Ozburn would handle his words like she were wearing a pitcher’s mitt – each line was worked and oiled and tooled for a full delivery. Ozburn delivered. “The Importance of Being Earnest� runs at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $24 with student and military discounts. The theatre is located within the Lakewood Towne Center, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd. Contact (253) 5880042 or lakewoodplayhouse.org.
PHOTO BY ERIN LUND
LAUGH-A-LOT. “Spamalot,� the musical inspired by British comedy classic “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,� runs weekends through July 7 at Gig Harbor’s Paradise Theatre. By Steve Dunkelberger stevedunkel@tacomaweekly.com
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ig Harbor’s Paradise Theatre opened the Northwest’s premiere of “Monty Python’s Spamalot� on Friday as a way to end its regular season with a hearty helping of British humor all dressed up in outrageous accents. The gig includes flying stuffed cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchmen, mothers who bear a striking resemblance to hamsters and fathers who apparently smell like Elderberries. All this and more left the audience with aching sides from laughter. Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical and nominated for 13 other awards, “Spamalot� pulls from the 1975 comedy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail� in its musical retelling of the adventures of the King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table. All the great scenes are there, including “The Knights Who Say Ni,� “Knights of the Round Table� and “Brave Sir Robin,� and a shout out to “Monty Python’s Life of Brian� with the addition of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.� Anyone who is a fan of the movie will know what is in store during the stage production. Those unwashed heathens unfamiliar with the celluloid gem will be surprised. The book and lyrics by Eric Idle and music by Idle, with help from John Du Prez, take the best of the movie’s humor and wrap it into a stage show that plays like
a movie on a stage. The costumes and dance numbers are period and tight in a show where timing is everything. There are no big laugh moments, just a machine gun of vaudevillian one liners and deadpan deliveries that only work with practice and British accents. Anchoring the show are King Arthur (played by Jonathan Bill) and his “horse� Patsy (Gary Fetterplace) as they venture around their Middle Age realm to find knights worthy of the quest to find the vessel used at the Last Supper between Jesus and his followers. Along their route, they find the famed Lady of the Lake turned spritely diva (Alicia Ross) and the likes of Not Dead Fred (Jake Atwood) and Sir Robin (John Mobus). Solid acting was done by all, however, the translation from film to stage could have used a bit more energy and antics. The movie played well in theaters because it included so many oddball close-ups and subtle line deliveries that simply can’t shuttle to a stage version without some impact loss. But it was well worth the trip across the bridge, nonetheless. “Spamalot� runs at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. on Sundays through July 7. The theater will host a special dinner show at 6 p.m. July 6 as well. Paradise Theatre is located at 9911 Burnham Dr. N.W. in Gig Harbor. Tickets are: $20 for adults, $17 for seniors and $10 for students and are available at www.paradisetheatre.org.
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