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A Family Affair
Reviewed by Deborah Klugman
Classical Theatre Lab in Plummer Park
Through August 10
RECOMMENDED:
Though just about every serious theatergoer in this country has seen a Chekhov play, few have heard of Alexander Ostrovksy, a prolific 19thcentury Russian playwright and satirist whose first work, A Family Affair, was not only banned from the stage but even prohibited from being discussed in the press.
“All the characters are first class villains, the dialogue is filthy, the entire play is an insult to the Russian Merchant Class,” complained the irate censor’s report. This was in 1850; eight years later, however, a new more progressive czar had assumed power, and the play was staged, the first of many comedies Ostrovksy wrote lampooning the nouveau riche and that era’s entrepreneurial class. As some things remain constant, among them human greed, Ostrovksy’s work remains both funny and relevant.
Condensed into 80 minutes and directed by Mel Green with a few choice contemporary updates, the story concerns a well-to-do businessman, Bolshov (Joe Hulser), who is head over heels in debt and facing debtors’ prison and total ruin unless he can engineer a way out. A lawyer, Rispolozhensky (Donald Wayne) suggests that he temporarily sign his property over to his clerk Lazar (Darryl Armbruster), an ambitious up-and-comer with designs on Bolshov’s daughter Lipochka (Lonni Silverman). So fatuous and full of himself is Bolshov that he hasn’t an inkling of the conspiracy between Rispolozhensky and Lazar to purloin his estate until it’s too late.
While Bolshov’s money troubles may trigger events, a lot of the comedy emanates from the women in his household, and their conflicting notions of what constitutes a marriageable male prospect: a dashing uniform or a portfolio full of money, an elegant impoverished aristocrat or a stout wealthy bourgeois. Their pretentious ambitions and hollow system of values go hand in hand with the men’s unscrupulous business antics.
Colorfully costumed by Natalie Shahinyan, the production moves at a crisp pace, with ample hilarious moments. There’s some mugging among the ensemble; Hulser’s careless merchant is too much the clown, and a bland Armbruster leaves opportunities unexplored. But Silverman as a spoiled tantrum-tossing debutante and Wayne’s understated alcoholic solicitor each fashion a comic gem of a performance. Yet as terrific as they both are, they are upstaged by Riley Dandy, who plays the household’s lowly servant with such flair and fluidity that she steals every scene she’s in.
Classical Theatre Lab, Fiesta Hall Courtyard, Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., W. Hlywd.; Sat. 5 p.m.; Kings Road Park, 1000 N. Kings Rd., W. Hlywd; Sun. 4 p.m. (no perf July 27); through August 10. 323-960-5691,classicaltheatrelab@gmail.com.