The Public Domain Gallery,
through June 29
Running Time: 40 min
There’s just something about watching a tale unfold in front of your eyes
that is somehow mystical, as if you were diving deeper into the ocean and watching
as the environment becomes more and more unusual. It’s even more delicious when
you have to wait a month for your next level of unique creatures, when you are
forced to stop at each new depth just when your curiosity has almost been fed and
ponder what you will see after the delay.
Flame Failure: The Silent War, a play in 12 episodes with one running each
month in The Public Domain’s gallery, continues to supply unique fauna that you
just want to watch in Episode Two: Hay in a Needlestack. Actors Ryan King, Brian
Jepson, and Alvin Cantu effortlessly speak and spin playwright Dan Bonfitto’s words while
they add information to the complicated story that is delightfully revealing
itself. Granted, this installment seems less refined than the first, Firebox, and at times you
can see the playwright’s hands pulling the characters’ strings in order to set up
the next 10 productions. Still, it’s exciting to endure the wait before you can
sink even further into these storytelling depths. – Adrienne Martini
THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD: REFRESHINGLY SOLID
State Theatre
through June 29
2Running Time: 2 hrs, 30 min
The yeomen of the guard can carry a tune marvelously, but they are not the
brightest members of Gilbert & Sullivan’s arsenal. Yes, they are trying their
hardest and are chock full of patriotism, but they fail to notice that the one man that
they are trying to capture is posing as one of their ranks; his clever disguise is
no more than a missing beard. But this production of The Yeomen of the Guard is
full of sharper wits, including those singers who make up these ranks of
unobservant guardsmen.
The script itself is standard G&S fare, complete with crossed lovers,
military-esque chorus, and tightly woven music, all well executed by Robert Ren�
Galv�n’s orchestra. A twist exists in this seemingly frothy operetta: All does not end
happily for all of the players. There is some strife in this world, heartache, that
cannot have a happy ending.
Perhaps the strength of this Gilbert & Sullivan Society production
lies in Christina Moore’s lively direction or Andrea Ariel’s precise choreo-graphy,
or in their ability to get a very large cast on a very small stage without making
it appear cramped. Added to their skills are a host of strong voices attached to
equally strong actors. Janette Jones, as the love-struck Phoebe; Frank Delvy, as the
love-struck jester; Cynthia Hill, as the love-struck Elsie; and Michael Lucus, as the
love-struck Wilfred, stand out of this cast.
It would appear that the Society has taken some great strides with this
production by stepping up the quality of directing and acting, but, like the guardsmen,
is relatively unaware of some larger pieces that are out of place. Some of the roles, such
as Fairfax, the romantic lead, and Dame Carruthers, the prison matron, are sung with
great technical skill but look to have been cast based solely on the performer’s vocal
quality, not their acting ability or physical appearance. Mike McBride’s lighting design
is uneven, full of dark holes and a colorless cyc.
Still, these are minor annoyances in what is a refreshingly solid offering
from this city’s only society devoted to the preservation and performance of these
masterworks of light operetta.
– Adrienne Martini
This article appears in June 27 • 1997 and June 27 • 1997 (Cover).