The Lucky Chance, Echo Theatre, 2-15-2013

The Lucky Chance or, The Alderman’s Bargain

Echo Theatre

2-15-2013

Echo Theatre’s production of The Lucky Chance or, The Alderman’s Bargain by Aphra Behn currently running at the Bath House Cultural Center was an evening of highly entertaining and well executed spectacle, but the spectacle unfortunately overshadowed the story, resulting in amused confusion.

“The Lucky Chance, Or The Alderman's Bargain embraces the classic theme of innocent, young women who are betrothed to self-serving, lustful men and is an indictment of the arranged marriage system of Behn’s society. The self-important old roué Sir Feeble Fainwood uses his wealth to gain lovely Leticia Bredwell as his bride. Feeble's friend, Sir Cautious Fulbank, also bought a bride, Julia who - like Leticia - is in love with another younger, poorer man. The young lovers vow to end this tradition of marital servitude before Leticia must consummate her marriage and Feeble's daughter, Diana, becomes the next victim. Echo's streamlined new adaptation toys with the parallels between the English Restoration and the Sexual Revolution by setting the play in 1960’s Swinging London. Behn's classic language collides with commedia dell' arte style, the musical interludes of The Singing Detective and the 1960’s sound of Hullabaloo! It’s a 1680's play done in 1960's style! The Lucky Chance features explosive physicality and a sizzling sexuality and requires a dozen actors playing 20+ characters.” (taken from Echo Theatre’s publication materials)

Aphra Behn is credited as the first published female playwright of the English language, so it is clear why she easily fits in with Echo’s mission. The classical text was full of wit and charm, and the storyline is a tried and true one. It is a lesser known text, so the plot twists were fairly surprising. Once the audience was in the groove of the language, the jokes and the comebacks become predictable. This doesn’t make them any less funny, though. Director René Moreno adapted the script. Given the time period in which it was written, one can assume he did a lot of cutting in consideration of a modern audience’s attention span. It is doubtful the audience experienced a tragic loss as the flow of the story, and especially the lines, gave no hint to any cuts or rewrites.

The Bath House Cultural Center, home of Echo Theatre’s productions, is a small venue with seating for about 50. The proscenium stage was painted with a giant Union Jack and had two doors for entrances on the far upstage. A psychedelic painting of the Queen adorned one wall. Entrances and exits were also made from the far left and right curtains, and there was a surprise window revealed in a comedic bit late in the first act. Other surprises are also hidden throughout the design, but to critique them here would ruin the joke for a future audience. It is a long space that is not very deep, but scenic designer Clare Floyd DeVries was still able to carve out many useable levels for the director and actors to play within. One distraction of the design is that the doors were not flush with the floor, so movement offstage was visible, and the all wood set made for at times thunderous backstage travel, especially for those in high heels. Linda Blasé’s lighting design was simple but effective: dimming for night and no part of the stage left unseen. When it comes to the costumes, Ryan Matthieu Smith showcased the fashion of the 1960s in ALL its splendor. From wedding attire to bedroom lounge wear and everything in between, I honestly don’t think a single trend of the entire decade was left out. A well fitted and character appropriate lime green suit was the costume highlight for me, though Leticia’s shoes had me resisting the urge to ask the actor what size she wore and where the shoes were procured. Props Design, shared by Rebekka Koepke and Lynn Mauldin, was minimalistic. A few bottles of perfume, letters, coin purses and so forth were excellent in their unobtrusive detailed accuracy. The use of wigs was unaccredited  but they were appropriately styled for the time period. However, there was a noticeable color difference between the actors' hair and the wigs that I found to be distracting.

  

Moreno successfully unites the farcical design elements with his more than capable actors to create a fun and colorful world. The juxtaposition of the belletristic text with the music, clothes, and general attitudes of the 1960s somehow worked. The blocking was always organic and clearly motivated, and with some help from Sara Romersberger, who was credited with Choreography and Movement, even the scene changes proved to be a source of entertainment.

The standout directing choice by Moreno in this production was the use of a variety of 1960s music that the actors lip synced while remaining in character. I lost track of how many performances there were after seven such musical interludes. Though each number was performed with absolute dedication and the finesse of trained dancers in a Broadway musical, the joke got old after a while. And they didn’t just sing the chorus or a verse of the song. No, they often sang the entire thing. The first number, as much from shock value as for delivery, was met with laughter and applause. The only other number greeted with such enthusiasm was Adrian Spencer Churchill’s rendition of Ol’ Blue Eyes’ I Did it My Way at the end. Before I criticize the bold choice, let me stress that the songs were well performed, and the audience found them to be entertaining. If such a category existed, they would be nominated for best lip synced musical. However, the songs did not add to the story and in many ways detracted from it. Part of the detraction was the flip from classical to contemporary language. It jarred the audience and left our ear out of tune when the dialogue picked back up. Also, the songs added to the run time of the show which clocked in at just over two and a half hours with one intermission. (This show could have benefited from a second intermission or just more cuts.) Once the music started, I often stopped paying attention to the story and instead became the person in the audience who noticed things like my neighbor’s beautiful watch, wondering when the show could get on. It was entertaining, and I did my best to have fun with the actors, but in the end, I was fed just too many lip synced exhibitions.

The 12 member cast devoured the classical language and offered it to the audience without the pretention often associated with other classical works. Comedic bits were played off with ease, and their energy and dedication to the moment oozed off the stage. They gave it their all, and the audience responded in kind. I laughed even when something wasn’t funny because I was trying to reciprocate, sending positive audience energy back to the actors. Of particular note was the use of London accents- each character with his or her own class distinction that every single actor performed admirably.

Opening the show with a monologue chalk full of expose the audience needed was Austin Tindle as Mr. Bellmour. He was one of the young men whose lover had been arranged into marriage with a much older man. He schemed his way into the home of the bride and began an elaborate plot to win her back. With ease, perfect diction and a willingness to connect directly with his audience, Tindle carried the audience into the show as easily as he might invite us into his own home. Playing the other jilted lover, Charles Gayman, was Brandon Sterrett. In the opening scene, he seemed tripped up by the dialogue, but this was remedied by the second scene and was never a problem again. His shining moment came in a would-be steamy scene with his much older landlady (played by Kateri Cale) in which he fights the urge to vomit.

Laurel Alons as Lady Julia Fulbank and Martha Harms as Leticia were the young women suffering from arranged marriages to much older men. Harms was most believable in her angst and broken heart. I also felt she and Tindle were better matched as a couple. Alons was a strong actress who brought a lot of fire to her character, but I felt a genuine passion was missing during her encounters with Sterrett. It’s almost as if they were telling the audience “We are in love, we are in love” only to leave us doubting the statements once they finally shared the stage. Her most truthful moment was when she seductively, silently gestured “come hither” while lying on a bed.

Sir Feeble Fainwood and Sir Cautious Fulbank are played by Bradley Campbell and Adrian Spencer Churchill, respectively. Campbell relished in playing the biggest kid on the stage with over the top physicality, facial expressions and vocalizations. He really sparked to life during the second act, and I found myself anxiously awaiting his return to a scene. The biggest laugh of the entire evening for me came when he talked about the scary ghosts. Churchill, as mentioned before, had his standout moment during I Did it My Way, but it was not his only time to shine. While debating the loss of his wife verses the loss of 300£, he had the audience in stitches.

Carissa Jade Olsen as Diana (Fainwood’s daughter who also had her engagement arranged) was appropriately wide eyed and utilized her long hair and slender frame to woe not only her intended but the audience as well. She handled the emotional context with relative ease- easily portraying a ditzy young woman in love, but what seemed to be a slight speech impediment made it difficult to understand her at times. Dan Schmoker as Mr. Bredwell- another poor servant in love, was able to truly shine in both voice and physicalization when he donned the cape, top hat, and mask of Satan himself. The switch from Mr. Bredwell to Mr. Bredwell as Satan was so complete and highly entertaining that I applaud him for creating a character within a character. Ian Ferguson as Mr. Bearjest appeared to be a minor comedic character who helped open the first Act, but gave a surprise turn by the end of Act II. Ferguson was engaged in every scene and was the quintessential smarmy rich kid.

An actor who plays multiple roles in a single production with acute attention to details such as voice, accent and physical characterization along with the added design elements such as costuming deserve special recognition. Lauren Davis, Kateri Cale and Nathan Autrey played at least nine characters. Each time he or she entered the stage, a complete transformation had occurred to the point I had to double check it was only a cast of 12. Davis used her deep voice and slow walk to seduce characters and was able to flip comedically from an English accent to a French accent with ease. Servant Gammer Grime and Landlady Pert were played to perfection by Kateri Cale, an Echo producing partner. Autrey and I attended college together, and so it was a joy to see him onstage once again in a highly comedic role. His transformations between characters (playing four in total) was a constant source of entertainment for the entire audience.

Overall, Echo Theatre’s production of Aphra Behn’s The Lucky Chance Or, The Alderman’s Bargain was an high energy and commendable spectacle that left the audience perplexingly charmed.

_______________________________________________________

Runs Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm through February 23.

Tickets are available by calling 214-904-0500 or online at www.echotheatre.org 

Bath House Cultural Center

521 E. Lawther Drive

Dallas, TX 75218

________________________________________________________

Director: René Moreno

Choreography and Movement: Sara Romersberger

Set Design: Clare Floyd DeVries

Sound Design: Pam Myers-Morgan

Stage Manager: Kelsey Ervi

Lighting Design: Linda Blase

Costume Design: Ryan Matthieu Smith

Props Design: Lynn Mauldin and Rebekka Koepke

Sir Feeble Fainwood: Bradlley Campbell

Sir Cautious Fulbank: Adrian Spencer Churchill

Mr. Gayman: Brandon Sterrett

Mr. Bellmour: Austin Tindle

Mr. Bredwell: Dan Schmoker

Mr. Bearjest: Ian Ferguson

Ralph, Captain Noisey, Dick, Shepardess: Nathan Autrey

Lady Julia Fulbank: Laurel Alons

Leticia: Martha Harms

Diana: Carissa Jade Olsen

Phillis, Postwoman, Rag: Lauren Davis

Gammer Grime, Pert: Kateri Cale

Board Operator: Rebecca Brooks