Saint Joan 

Reviewed by Katie Buenneke 
Bedlam at the Broad Stage 
Through April 15 

When New York-based theater troupe Bedlam first performed their four-person version of George Bernard Shaw’s 1923 play Saint Joan, they staged it in an off-Broadway theater, somewhat similar in size and scope to L.A.’s 99-seat houses. It’s a frenetic, full-of-energy work that would play well in a smaller space — but despite the best efforts of the cast and director, the show gets lost in the large auditorium setting of Santa Monica’s Broad Stage.

The story follows Joan of Arc (Aundria Brown) through three acts of her life: first, as the young Frenchwoman who impresses her contemporaries and convinces them to push back against the invading English forces; then, as someone who sees the tide of public opinion turn against her, despite leading the French to victory; and finally, as the accused at a trial for heresy — if she is receiving God’s messages directly, it’s a rebuke of the Catholic Church, who believe that only male priests can receive the word of God. Here, the remaining 23 characters are played by three actors (Kahlil Garcia, Sam Massaro, and Aubie Merrylees), who rotate in and out of various personas, oftentimes within the same scene (at times, two actors even switch off, playing the same character in the same scene).

Under Eric Tucker’s direction, the show is ably staged, with plenty of verve and a sense of contemporaneity that’s surprising for a story written nearly a century ago and set over half a millennium ago. But it isn’t best served in a large theater with a proscenium arch; too much of the dialogue gets lost, bouncing off the high ceilings and numerous hard surfaces in the theater, and failing to make it into the audience’s ears. This makes it difficult to follow the story, especially since the actors are often speaking a mile a minute.

Tucker and the cast use the theater’s space well, not limiting themselves to the stage itself, but popping up in unexpected places. However, this requires that the house lights stay up for much of the show, keeping the audience illuminated, which is distracting. It’s not hard to imagine how invigorating this piece would be in a more intimate space. Indeed, this seems to be a problem that a number of off-Broadway shows face when they come to L.A. and play our larger houses. The size of the Ahmanson didn’t do any favors for last season’s Into the Woods, which also came from off-Broadway.

Location-specific problems aside, the production is quite good overall. Aubie Merrylee is particularly enjoyable to watch as he switches between characters; he makes a strong impression in the play’s first scene playing a harried minor noble and distinguishes himself as the eight other characters he plays. But it is sometimes difficult to keep track of all the characters, since the actors switch roles so frequently; one is tempted to think they are starting from scratch in each scene, impeding the audience’s ability to apprehend the development of any one character except Joan across different scenes in the play.

Saint Joan seems to be having something of a renaissance at the moment; it’s currently playing on Broadway and was staged on the West End a year and a half ago. Bedlam’s production (which predates both of those) offers a lively opportunity to see a lesser-known Shaw play that wrestles with issues of theology and feminism in an engaging way.  

Bedlam at the Broad Stage, 1310 11^th St., Santa Monica; in repertory; through April 15. Thebroadstage.org. Running time: three hours, including two 15-minute intermissions.