Beau Jest” by James Sherman
Directed by Karen Lund
Taproot Theatre Company
206-781-9707
www.taproottheatre.orgWhat’s a nice
meidl to do when
tate and
mame insist she marry “in the faith”? And what’s she supposed to do when she finally agrees to introduce them to her latest boyfriend, the one about whom they’ve heard
so much? Why, call a local escort service, naturally. That’s essentially the premise of Chicago playwright James Sherman’s Simonesque romantic comedy, “Beau Jest”, now playing at Greenwood’s Taproot Theatre Company. And while Bob (Timothy Horner), the “date” Sarah (Charity Parenzini) gets isn’t exactly what she had in mind (heck, he isn’t even Jewish!), the results are pretty darned funny nevertheless.
“Beau Jest” (the title is a pun on Percival Christopher Wren’s 1924 French Foreign Legion novel “Beau Geste”, which like the plot of Sherman’s play has been redone ad nauseum) is as frothy as a “vente mocha frappuccino” (with about the same nutritional value), but director Karen Lund and company show they know their way around Sherman’s comedic pretzel-logic, and they keep the frivolity moving quickly enough that the audience isn’t left pondering some of the play’s more gaping plot holes and “extrenuating” circumstances. Lund also directed Taproot’s 1995 production, and here she justifies taking a second go-round with the show, getting smart, charming performances from her leads, and handling Sherman’s rapid-fire dialogue with equal finesse. She also manages to mostly overcome the ubiquitous problem of moving actors around Taproot’s thrust stage, although even here there are moments, especially during the final scene when the entire cast is on-stage, that they get into traffic jams, creating sight line problems for the audience. Still, Lund keeps everything moving along smartly, and the blocked views quickly dissolve amidst the frenetic activity.
If many of the situations in “Beau Jest” make it seem like some “Twilight Zone”-ish throwback to “Fiddler On The Roof”, that would seem deliberate on Sherman’s part; “Fiddler” references abound, from the casual to the absurdly specific. At one point, Bob, asked to give
seder blessing pulls off the feat, astonishing Sarah, and pleasing her parents Abe and Miriam (Steve Manning and Kim Morris) no end; even Sarah’s suspicious brother, Joel (Todd Kulczyk) seems suitably impressed. But, Bob is an actor after all, so there had to be at least one production of “Fiddler” on his resume somewhere (and
naturally he remembers the exact lines, years later). And of course, the entire play is simply an updated version of Tevye’s problem: how to preserve tradition, while at the same time allowing for new experiences. Sherman doesn’t tread any new ground in examining the issue, but he does contrive a novel circumstance in which the age-old dilemma can be played out. And the general hilarity of watching Bob and Sarah squirm their way through each successive dinner-with-the-relatives, makes it a forgivable conceit.
Taproot regular Horner turns in a stellar performance as Bob, the unflappable actor-cum-gigolo, who plays charmingly against Parenzini’s distraught, panic-stricken Sarah with the skill of a Second City improviser. Although he’s clearly in over his head, Bob relishes the challenge to test his skills, and Horner makes the most of every opportunity given the character, engaging in bug-eyed incredulity at each new curve thrown at him, while employing a good-natured “guy next door” persona that eventually wins over everyone, even Sarah’s “real” boyfriend, Chris (Jason Adkins), who eventually realizes he’s got no chance against Bob’s chameleon-like abilities.
Parenzini, for her part is vivacious without being cloying, and the chemistry between her and Horner is such that the audience can easily buy the preposterous notion that they’ll fall head-over-heels for each other. As the ever-hopeful parents, Manning and Morris manage to keep just to the near side of stereotype, particularly Manning, whose Abe is rather too Tevye-esque in looks and delivery to ignore the obvious (and one suspects deliberate) similarity. Kulczyk gets some good comic mileage out of his role as Sarah’s brother (who just happens to be a guidance counselor), teasing his way into her confidence, then helping to uphold the masquerade. Adkins is left with the thankless task of being the odd-man-out, but gives it his all in his brief appearances, and especially in the raucous final scene when he and Bob engage in several rounds of one-upmanship to prove who’ll go to the greatest (not to mention most ridiculous) length to win Sarah’s hand.
But, it’s all a foregone conclusion, just as it was for “Fiddler’s” young lovers: the parents eventually embrace their new son-in-law to-be, even if he’s far from the image they had in mind -- or the one their daughter led them to expect. Bob may not be a doctor, but he can sure
play one (and boy does he pull that off with a flourish!), and in the larger scheme of things, that appears to be more than sufficient for both parents and audience alike.
