By Robert W. Bethune
There is a standard formula for farcical comedy based on the tried-and-true convention of the well-meant deceit. These are plays in which good people tell lies, not with malicious intent, and others, taking their lies at face value, do things that aren't at all what the liar intended. The liars try to maintain the lie, but only get deeper and deeper into hot water, until finally someone manages something clever that gets everyone back out of the stew. No one gets hurt, which is reassuring, and everybody gets confused, which is funny. If skillfully done, the result is a pleasant evening in the theater. The modern form of this sort of play was worked out back in the 19th century by French writers such as Feydeau; the classical form goes all the way back to the Greeks and Romans – Menander, Plautus, Terence and others whose works and names are lost.
In "Going Bare" by Mary Jane Taegel, the lies are told by Jack, an OB/GYN, and Barbara, his wife. He dropped his malpractice insurance and promptly got sued for millions. He and his wife scheme up a fake divorce so that she will have all the money and he will be too broke to be worth suing. His friend and lawyer, Elliot, can't stop them, though he tries, and therefore supports the effort. His real estate agent, a woman named Claire, believes the fakery and starts courting him. The security man for his neighborhood (one must assume a gated community) gets so confused by all the comings and goings that he almost shoots Barbara as a burglar. Jack gets so enthusiastic when he makes up reasons for the supposed divorce that Barbara can't take it, gets angry, and is about ready to make the fake divorce real. Nobody gets seriously hurt, though feelings and faces get bruised. There are a good many witty jokes, rather in the manner of Neil Simon, and a mildly sexy plot twist pulls Jack out of the fire.
Such plays require vivid acting with loads of personality, in spite of the fact that often the characters, especially the leads, are mere plot ciphers. Under Cyndi Heins' direction, Rob Papineau as Elliot has personality to spare; in fact, he flat-out steals the show. Elliot is smart, witty, cynical, manipulative, amoral, mildly alcoholic and highly egotistical. It's easy to see that the playwright fell in love with Elliot and gave him all the good stuff, which Papineau plays with delightful variety and vigor, because frankly there isn't much left over for the rest of the cast. Barbara and Jack are pretty flat as characters, and even Claire, the real estate agent, played by Rachel Kiner, doesn't have very much really good material except for one terrific scene with Elliot. That leaves Vanessa Grayson as Barbara and Rob Chrenko as Jack pretty much up a tree. The playwright left their characters as plain cheese pizza: pleasant enough, but a bit dull. Heins, Grayson and Chrenko need to supply more spices and toppings a la Papineau.
(FOR "REVIEW BOX")
REVIEW:
'Going Bare'
StarBrite Presents Dinner Theater at the Uptown Eatery, 19701 W. 12 Mile Rd., Southfield. Fri.-Sat., through May 19. Tickets: $39.95; price includes three-course dinner, show and tax. For information: 248-423-1452 or http://www.starbriteprod.com
