From Subtle Satire to In Your Farce — THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST at HPU & THE INSPECTOR GENERAL at TAG

Two theatres, two classics, two very different shows

 

From light and frothy to exaggerated buffoonery; from parasols to sock puppets; from character to caricature: Two classic comedies now playing on O‘ahu that share certain qualities—such as social criticism and mistaken identity—provide drastically dissimilar theatrical experiences.

Cucumber Cool

From the moment the houselights go down, when costumed servants enter in very low light to get things “set” just so for the afternoon tea while classical music plays, a tidy and sophisticated world comes in to being, replete with engraved silver cigarette cases and edible crustless cucumber sandwiches. The Importance of Being Earnest—Oscar Wilde’s most famous play—finds itself right at home in Hawaii Pacific University’s (HPU) Paul and Vi Loo Theatre.

The play sports a collection of clever and quirky characters each with perfectly preposterous ideas on how one should behave in society. Nearly every line contains irony and witty wordplay. The plot is a well-crafted web of improbable connections and relations, which I’ll leave for the reader to experience first-hand, so as to enjoy the experience that much more if you’ve never read or seen the play before. This production benefits from a strong cast, highly competent designers, and subtle direction. Director Joyce Maltby, who touts Earnest as “one of the best comedies ever written in the English language,” mostly gets out of the way, letting the text “direct” much of the action, a feat more difficult and commendable than it sounds.

The main attraction of Earnest is undoubtedly Mitchell Milan as Lady Bracknell. His mannerisms, speech cadences, and facial expressions comprise a character that will have you hanging on her every word and movement. As Maltby mentions in her program note, it’s becoming fairly common to cast a male in this role. I doubt many men could do it better than Milan.

That said, there are no weaknesses in this cast. The four frivolous main characters around whom the plot revolves are brought to life in amusing contrasts. Duncan Dalzell’s Algernon Moncrieff is the perfect rake to Richard Bragdon’s sincere and serious—though not quite innocent—John Worthing. Lacey Perrine Chu’s silly and impetuous Cecily Cardew is abundantly veracious  alongside Sara Cate Langham’s superb portrayal of the exceedingly cultivated Gwendolen Fairfax, a relationship that epitomizes the differences (and similarities) between country and city upbringings.

The story of trivial misidentifications that is Earnest clips along at a steady pace, slowing only for the eccentricities of Lady Bracknell. The audience has the tantalizing task of keeping up with the many quips and following the satirical story to its anticipated end. While there is nothing really groundbreaking about this production, each element is crafted with attention and care, providing a delightful evening of theatre.

Caricature Cacophony

What do sock puppets, a squeaky rubber hunk of meat, and a plethora of “idiots” have in common? Each appears in The Actors’ Group’s  (TAG) current production of The Inspector General, an adaptation of the Nikolai Gogol play. Oisin O’Sullivan, who adapted the play from the Russian classic, has a nonchalant attitude about his success: “If you think the play is funny, OK, it’s funny. If you think the play stinks, OK, it stinks,” he ventures in his program note. A production like this—audacious and unabashed—will probably score 50/50 in the funny/stinks ratio of popular opinion.

Those who arrive without expectations will likely enjoy Inspector the most, mainly because this adaptation, rather than providing more sophisticated satire, delivers a bawdy, cartoonish farce. Director Enda O. Breadon writes in his program note, “People look like idiots when they try hard to be important, or even just to look important.” This show doesn’t try to be or look important. That doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t. Looks—as this play demonstrates through the inciting case of mistaken identity—can be deceiving.

The corrupt, Napoleonic Governor, notably played by Su Yates, is the major dupe, mistaking a virtual nobody for the “inspector general” due to arrive from the capital at any moment.

Everything about this production hinges on the topsy-turvy. The outrageous human characters and the simple sock puppets make each other look both plausible and ridiculous, especially when engaging in adroit conversation all in the “hands” of just one actor, namely Joshua Howard Behn, who simultaneously portrays Khlestakov, of the mistaken identity, and his valet Osip.

While some performances are a pleasure to watch—like the vivacious renditions of Marya (Ailia Hopkins) and her mother Anna (Michele Van Hessen)—others are painfully flat or dull.  Again, the disparity accentuates in either direction, as is the case with the costume and set designs. Fabulously tailored, colorful clothing bursts out against a drab, uneventful set. But aren’t all these extremes working toward a particular representation of life? Contradictory, diverse, monotone and yet full of color.

Gogol’s Inspector General is a critique of human nature and social power structures. It makes sense to attack the audience’s sensibilities and expectations. TAG’s production, while very funny at moments and even quite clever conceptually, lacks somewhat in execution, with pacing being the greatest roadblock. There’s an “inner thought” spot that functions as a recurring speed bump, preventing the show from really taking off. The audience manages to get ahead of the jokes, winding up safely out of reach, neither amused nor abused. The majority of rollicking fun comes in the second act, in scenes where the momentum is allowed to break free, such as a stylized dance seduction and a revolving-door parade of townspeople.

The HPU and TAG productions take alternative approaches to classic texts, engaging audiences in almost opposite fashion. Earnest takes you along on a familiar yet pleasurable ride with reverence for the text and a consistent, dry, satirical wit, while The Inspector treats the classic as a blueprint, creating something original and certainly cheeky—like a trip off the tracks on a runaway train.

[The Importance of Being Earnest, HPU’s Paul and Vi Loo Theatre, 45-045 Kamehameha Highway, Kaneohe, runs until May 6, Thu at 7:30pm, Fri & Sat at 8pm, Sun at 4pm, $5-$25, 375-1282, www.hpu.edu/theatre]

[The Inspector General, TAG - The Actors’ Group, Dole Cannery Square, 650 Iwilei Rd Suite 101, runs until April 29, Thu-Sat at 7:30pm, Sun at 2pm, $12-$20, 722-6941, www.taghawaii.net]