The Shaw Festival’s productions have been getting
progressively better all summer. The two final openings this season, an offbeat
musical and an elaborate comedy, were greeted with wildly enthusiastic
applause, and rightly so. Both works are demanding enough to warrant a “Not For
Amateurs” warning label, but Shaw’s superb artistic ensemble triumphs in them.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Intended to
be another big hit following their Threepenny
Opera, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s 1929 musical Happy Endwas initially a disastrous flop, and
subsequently was hardly performed for five decades. Apparently, its original
rejection resulted from a near-riot at the premiere after Brecht’s wife, the
legendary pain-in-the-ass actress Helene Weigel, interpolated shouts of
Communist slogans into the last act. What seems to have brought the show back
to life is Michael Feingold’s brilliant English-language adaptation from 1972.
The cast of director Tadeusz Bradecki’s faithful but inventive new production
seem to revel in it.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Admittedly,
it remains an unrealistic mix of satiric wit, propaganda, derivative plot, and
caricatured roles. The exotic settings and stories of its songs don’t really
fit its characters. Why, for instance, is an innocent Salvation Army lass
singing about a raunchy affair with a man in Indonesia? Why is the menacing
villain, a “sinister Oriental,” so mannered and effeminate? Why is the big
gangster boss a woman in drag? And what has any of this to do with Chicago in
1919?
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย But the
tone somehow holds true; Brecht’s lyrics are dazzling, and Weill’s score is
magnificent. In fact, at least two of Happy
End‘s songs, “The Bilbao Song” and “Surabaya Johnny,” have always been
cited among the finest examples of Weill’s compositions. Even when the show was
in limbo, its songs were worldwide favorites.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Forget that
the love affair between a gangster and a Salvation Army lieutenant as well as
the gangsters joining the prayer meeting all seems like Guys and Dolls. Feingold notes that this show was written before
the Damon Runyon stories on which that musical is based. Whatever its mysterious
sources, Happy End makes playful use
of its gangster plot to show how corrupt the whole society is, to show the
virtue of beating the system, and mostly to develop its love stories and arrive
at its happy ending with tongue firmly in cheek.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Standouts
in the large cast include the two Runyonesque pairs of lovers: Benedict
Campbell, dryly witty in his virile tough-guy hero portrayal, Blythe Wilson as
his romantic interest Lieutenant Hallelujah Lil, Glynis Ranney as the
tough-girl boss The Fly, and Mike Nadajewski as the amnesiac Salvation Army
Captain who faints a lot.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Neil
Barclay is a huge, hilarious gangster, especially in drag. Jay Turvey may be
the least believable “Oriental” and most affected gangster I’ve ever seen, but
he’s priceless as Dr. Nakamura, and moves like a dancer. Jeff Lillico is coming
into his own this season. He makes Baby Face Flint adorably animated and sells
his songs by delivering choreographer Jane Johanson’s old pro gestures with a
sweet sincerity that lends them a peculiar panache, like deeply felt clichรฉs.
Robert Benson’s Cop also has authority and cleverness beyond the stereotype.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย They all
sing well, or at least put over the songs properly; Some of the Brecht-Weill
numbers require more bite than vocal richness. Ranney’s “Fly” scores
effectively with “Ballad of the Lily of Hell” in a voice that belongs on South Park, and Wilson’s Lillian
potently projects and acts two of the show’s best songs in a decidedly unlovely
voice.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Director
Bradecki guides his production team — musical director Paul Sportelli, set
designer Peter Hartwell, costume designer Teresa Przybylski, and lighting
designer Jeff Logue — in a consistent, stylish approach that could serve as a
lesson to Stratford’s wrongheaded version last season of Brecht and Weill’s The Threepenny Opera.
By way of contrast,
George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber’s The Royal Family is a surefire
comedy classic that has enjoyed many successful revivals since its 1927
Broadway premiere. Shaw Festival has produced it before. Geva Theatre revived
it some years ago. This summer Rochester’s WXXI-TV showed a taped version of a
distinguished Broadway revival from the ’70s. But, though it’s always a
pleasure to revisit, The Royal Family is
hardly an easy show to do well.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย First of
all, it requires an elaborate, realistic set of an extremely expensive New York
duplex apartment loaded with memorabilia of the first family of the theater.
These are the Cavendishes, not the Barrymores, but they suggest the legendary
theater family descended from John Drew and his son-in-law Maurice Barrymore
that is still represented by actress Drew. The actors must be glamorous,
dynamic, and exciting enough to persuade an audience that they are the
country’s most gifted and famous theater stars. Then we need onstage
piano-playing, a cast of at least 16, zany props, and animals (the televised
New York revival included not only dogs but parrots, macaws, and a monkey).
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Let’s just
say that Shaw’s current version is a delight, generally well-cast, and sumptuously
produced. Stratford diva Martha Henry directs with many felicitous touches and
an unflagging lively pace. William Schmuck’s designs are wonderfully helpful in
characterizing the time and place and people, but also contribute another of
his sets we’d like to live in and clothes we wish we could own. Kevin Lamotte’s
lighting is sensitive and elegant.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย In the
large cast I especially like Norman Browning and Nora McLellan, wickedly funny
as the Deans, the Royal Family’s actor-relatives who are notably lower in line
of succession. Robert Benson richly characterizes Oscar, the family’s
protective producer. He is genuinely touching when Oscar learns that Fanny, the
grande dame of the family, is too ill to act again. Patricia Hamilton is a
dignified Fanny Cavendish, sharp in her sarcastic lines and compelling, if not
inspiring. Goldie Semple is all the Ethel Barrymore character needs to be:
beautiful, strong, involving, funny, and patrician. And Peter Hutt is electric
and very funny as Tony, the John Barrymore role; but I know that he can use his
voice more grandly and musically than he does here, and for this role he
should.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย This is a
first-rate revival, whatever my minor quibbles, and provides a grand time in
the theater.
Shaw Festival,
Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada: Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s Happy End at the Royal George Theatre
through October 31; George S. Kaufman and Edna
Ferber’s The Royal Family at the
Festival Theatre through November 23. Tix: $20-$77
Canadian dollars (currently $14.43-$55.54 US). 800-511-7429, www.shawfest.com.
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2003.
