Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

Dreamweavers Theatre in Napa presents the farce Lie, Cheat and Genuflect for the enjoyment of fans of slapstick, stock characters, and broad humor. A certain amount of schadenfreude (laughter at the pain of others) doesn?t hurt either. As one would expect with any farce, the primary goal is to make the audience laugh, often with nonverbal humor and sight gags. No intellectual plot here, but absurd situations and characters that stretch credibility abound.

Director, Erin Lindke, has assembled a dedicated group to take on this madcap story written by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore. The convoluted plot is easily followed, and the audience is able to keep up with the exploits of the Buckle brothers as they attempt to kidnap the heiress and steal the inheritance so that Tom Buckle can pay off the loan shark, Pizza Face Petrillo. The emphasis remains with the sight gags and physical comedy, while the witty dialogue, and there is some, is sometimes missed.

Not everyone onstage seems to belong in the same play, and that can hinder its effectiveness. It would improve this production if some of the characters would fully embrace a stereotypical persona. Instant recognition of a character has its root in Commedia dell?arte, and, even though masks are not the usual fare in today?s farce, that immediate understanding of what animates a character is key to its success.

Additionally, some of the bawdy humor seems to be given short shrift as if the actors are not totally comfortable with the more lusty aspects of this comedy. This is not true, however, of Krisi Pilkington, who plays the drunken maid, Virginia. She is one of the bright lights in the show; fully embracing the stereotype of a man-hungry lush. The audience loved her.

Even though his character is a dim bulb, Daryl Roberts? performance as Billy Buckle is the other bright light in this production. He speaks with a New York accent that is perfect for this character. Unfortunately, Christian King, who plays Billy Buckle?s brother, has no similar accent and that is a little disconcerting since they presumably grew up together. Roberts, however, carries on with the bulk of the slapstick and absurd situations at the mercy of his ?smarter? brother. His facial expressions and total immersion in his character, whether man or nun, are priceless.

Tina Luisen (Girl) spends much of the play tied up in a closet, but has one of the funniest scenes when she is hopping about, still tied up, confused and terrified she may have been locked into an insane asylum. That and a tandem gag with Roberts, where she provides gestures while he speaks, are some of the funniest bits in the show. It was also good to see that they hired a ?stunt baby? for some of the more acrobatic scenes where the child is passed around like a football.

Gabe Frey (Pizza Face Petrillo) and his companion, Miss MacKinstosh (Therese Abalo), have small but delightfully recognizable roles as the stereotypical gangster and his moll. Costuming for these two characters is brilliantly done, but it?s too bad that Pizza Face?s boxers were hidden behind the sofa during his turn at running around the house pantless. The arrival of these characters further complicates the absurd situations as the mayhem continues. Turnabouts and reversals lead this play to its clever end that had the audience laughing until the final word.

I expect this farce to become tighter and have pacing issues resolved as the actors settle into their run that continues through 6 May. The audience had great fun watching and laughing at the antics onstage. For a fun and sometimes irreverent good time you could do worse than Lie, Cheat and Genuflect. Check out their web site at Dreamweaverstheatre.org for details.

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