Reviewed by Joel Beers
South Coast Repertory at San Juan Capistrano Mission
Through August 11
RECOMMENDED
Making a 7:30 p.m. curtain in San Juan Capistrano, which is about as far south as Orange County gets, can be challenging. From anywhere north of Irvine, it’s a lot of freeway, often a lot of time, and probably a lot of traffic.
But if this world hasn’t completely eradicated your sense of wonder and you still believe in the possibility of live theater to take you on a journey you never expected, then the drive to see South Coast Repertory’s production of The Old Man and the Old Moon shouldn’t be seen as a trek but as a pilgrimage.
Given that the production takes place on the grounds of the 249-year-old Mission San Juan Capistrano, Orange County’s most venerable landmark, the idea of pilgrimage is fitting. Though the mission primarily serves as a historic site and museum focused on archaeological preservation rather than saving souls, its Serra Chapel is the oldest surviving chapel in California and is still used for religious observances.
While there is nothing religious in a dogmatic or reverential sense about this show, the setting — outside in the mission’s courtyard flanked by adobe walls, arches, and the ruins of the original structure — might account for why this play, which is wonderfully entertaining and playful at times, can also feel deeply, emotionally resonant. There is an awful lot of history on those grounds, not all of it pleasant. Perhaps it’s that cumulative emotional memory that gives this production its layer of gravitas.
Or maybe the PigPen Theatre Co. — which conceived and originally performed the show — and this production, helmed by Kim Martin-Cotton, are just that good. PigPen is a company of theater performers and writers, but it’s also a group of recording and touring indie folk musicians. This show is a masterful fusion of the storytelling vocabulary of theater — which includes narration and dialogue, along with puppetry, visual imagery, and the physical movements of the actors — with the power of music, thus conveying mood and emotion through melody, rhythm, and harmony.
Most of the songs are drawn from Celtic and other British Isles folk styles, particularly sea shanties. They sound like what songs drawn from Celtic and other British Isles folk styles should sound like, yet they’re completely original. This sense of familiarity with something entirely new isn’t limited to the music. The play’s dominant symbols — the moon, the stars, the sea —are certainly not new, nor are the themes they represent: the passage of time, the persistence of memory, turbulent emotional depths. Even the story’s narrative structure, a picaresque-like tale where a roguish character on a road trip experiences a series of adventures and meets bizarre characters, is one of the most familiar literary genres.
Yet rather than seem like a pastiche, the story of The Old Man and the Old Moon feels fresh, alive, and compelling. And that might be, oddly enough, because it’s possible less thought was put into the story than anything else. It meanders, goes down false paths, and seems to end several times without ever really ending at all. But none of that matters. This is a classic example of the journey mattering more than the destination: it’s not what the story says or means that’s important, but how the story is told and what it feels like.
And what it feels like in this production is peak vibes (thanks, ChatGPT!). It’s a fantastic production from the spot-on British Isles dialects to the technical elements.
But it’s the incredible ensemble cast that literally makes this show sing. The seven members are ridiculously talented, excelling as actors, singers, and instrumentalists. Every member has ample opportunity to shine, but special attention must be given to Tommy Beck as the titular Old Man and Ana Marcu, who plays at least six roles and must handle a dozen different instruments.
And then there’s Armando Gutierrez, who also plays multiple roles but whose turn as a ship captain off to find glory in war should be canonized. Like much of what happens in this play, it’s difficult to put into words what Gutierrez does in his brief but memorable role. So, here’s some word association:
Groucho Marx’s Captain Spaulding. Goose-stepping Jack Sparrow. High school cheerleader pom-poms. Psychedelic drugs. The talented Hudson Brothers. Probably other multiple pop culture references not older than 50 years.
South Coast Repertory at San Juan Capistrano Mission; All perf. at 7:30 pm, more info at www.scr.org; thru Aug. 11. Running time approximately 100 minutes with no intermission.
