Derek Smith and Alexandria Duarte (Photo by Randy Lopez)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Ophelia’s Jump at Sontag Greek Theatre
Through July 21
RECOMMENDED
If you live in the greater Los Angeles area, Claremont is a far place. Still, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, presented by Ophelia’s Jump in repertory with La Tempestad (The Tempest) as part of its 10th Annual Midsummer Shakespeare Festival, is well worth the drive.
Situated on the grounds of historic Pomona College, the Sontag Greek Theatre is a lovely outdoor setting for this somewhat obscure play by Francis Beaumont, most famous for his Jacobean-era collaborations with John Fletcher. First presented circa 1607 at London’s Blackfriars Theatre, Knight is widely regarded as the first full-length parody written in English.
Perhaps that’s why its first production was such a flop. Although the play gradually gained in popularity, people of the day couldn’t wrap their post-Elizabethan minds around broad comedic satire.
There’s no mistaking the capacious burlesquing in this production. Director/adapter Caitlin Lopez explicates the basic plot of Beaumont’s original into an audaciously updated, cheekily anachronistic production that would raise the roof of this amphitheater — if indeed there were a roof.
Roughly speaking, the plot concerns a group of players who are rudely interrupted by a wealthy “Citizen” grocer and his horny Betty Boop-esque wife (Alex Herrera and Jenny Lockwood, both delightful). Continually heckling from the sidelines, this boozy and obnoxious couple insists on subverting the players’ romance into a chivalric saga starring their apprentice Rafe (Sam Erwin), henceforward dubbed “The Knight of the Burning Pestle.”
As the players try to stick to their planned scenario, Rafe and his reluctantly recruited Stagehand/Squire (David Duarte Guzman) undertake various outlandish adventures, from romancing a Princess (Preston Grant) to battling with a deadly giant (an adorable child, recruited from the audience on the night in question).
Plot B (or is it Plot A?) concerns a rich merchant (Ryan Herrera) and his daughter Luce (Alexandria Duarte) who has fallen in love with her father’s employee, Jasper (Corrin Icarus King). When the merchant fires the poor and lowborn Jasper for daring to woo Luce, complications hit the fan.
Liana Rose Veratudela and Austin Mooney round out the cast as the shrewish Mistress Merrythought, Jasper’s mother, and her spoiled son Michael. All the actors are comically unrestrained (and that’s putting it mildly) if not occasionally just plain gross. At one point, a character interrupts the action to announce that he has to relieve himself (except in far more explicit language). Silly pranks involving hula hoops and whoopee cushions contribute to the loosey-goosey, improvisational feel. Rafe takes a knight’s vow to the “soul of Nicholas Cage”; another character requests “creepy ambiance music” to augment a spooky speech. (The operators in the booth comply.)
Speaking of which, Lopez does an excellent job as the sound designer, while Beatrice Casagran’s minimalistic set and Vickie J. Scott’s lighting overcome the limitations of this outdoor venue.
Among the superlative cast, Derek Smith stands out in dual roles as Luce’s foppish wannabe suitor andMistress Merrythought’s hard-partying husband, a swivel-hipped, martini-swilling dude more focused on grooving to his ‘60s lounge music than the crises erupting around him. His underplayed drollery is a highlight of this offbeat and lively entertainment.
Sontag Greek Theatre, Pomona College, 300 East Bonita Ave., Claremont. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; thru July 20; www.opheliasjump.org Running time: two hours and 15 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
