Review: 'M' Is For Misfire

Ryan Landry's M

Inspired by the film by Fritz Lang, Written by Ryan Landry, Directed by Caitlin Lowans; Scenic Design, Jon Savage; Costume Design, Scott Martino; Lighting Design, Deb Sullivan; Sound Design & Original Music, David Remedios; Projections Design, Garrett Herzig; Puppetry Director, Roxanna Myhrum; Production Stage Manager, Carola Morrone LaCoste; Stage Manager, Candice D. Mongellow

CAST (in alphabetical order): Ellen Adair, Eva Jean Chapuran*, Ava Rose Cooke*, Larry Coen, David Drake, Laura Latreille, Karen MacDonald, Paul Melendy, Samantha Richert (* at select performances)

Performances through April 28 by the Huntington Theatre Company at the Wimberly Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA; Box Office 617-266-0800 or www.huntingtontheatre.org

Like the shadowy character skulking around the dark alleys and sharp corners of Jon Savage's evocative set, who knows what lurks in the mind of playwright Ryan Landry, the Gold Dust Orphans' founding father who has stepped up in class to collaborate with the venerable Huntington Theatre Company. Several miles and light years away from the basement of Machine nightclub in the Fenway where the Orphans ply their wacky trade, Ryan Landry's M is having its world premiere in the 370-seat Wimberly Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, in front of a mix of patrons who don't normally rub elbows together.

And perhaps that's the rub; that in his desire to be the servant of two masters, Landry's latest amalgam of parody and drama falls short of the mark of his usual comedic lunacy. To be fair, the subject matter of the 1931 film M, German auteur Fritz Lang's masterpiece, is not risible and has proven to be a challenge for adapters. This re-imagining brings in a romantic comedy arc that succeeds in providing some light and airy moments in the midst of the plot's basic darkness, but the arc isn't particularly funny. Paul Melendy (The Man) and Ellen Adair (The Woman) have the right sensibility for their characters and play off each other well, but their part of the story feels like a distraction.

Larry Coen is a Boston theater treasure who has directed and appeared in numerous Landry plays, receiving Elliot Norton Awards for them on three occasions. He is a quick-change artist in M, playing The Pig (the name Landry chose for a theater critic being rather telling), one of the village's little girls with blonde banana curls, and the Producer of the play who is outraged to find that his theatrical adaptation has been sabotaged by the playwright's romantic comedy plotline. Like me, he wants the focus to be returned to the murderer of the title and the children he abducts. Coen milks his roles for as much comedy as he can muster, but even he cannot overcome the convolution of all the speechifying about what the playwright has done.

Meanwhile, one stroke of genius is casting Karen MacDonald, another Boston treasure, in the title role which was played by bug-eyed Peter Lorre in Lang's film. Dressed in a man's suit and overcoat, wearing a short brown wig and a fedora, one might not realize that the figure casting a giant shadow on the rear wall is a woman, albeit playing a man. MacDonald exudes anxiety and menace as she skulks - really, there's no better word for it - around the periphery, not being directly involved in the action of the play until we've seen too much of the other characters who are not central to the murder plot. When she does get her close-up moment explaining M's psychotic behavior, she is riveting, if not sympathetic, and accepts her fiery fate stoically.

Director Caitlin Lowans does a good job of keeping the chaos in check even as she must juggle several balls at once. Cast members burst through the fourth wall on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, we are lead to believe that The Man is a member of the audience before he bounds onto the stage to insert himself into the story. The Woman morphs into a cabaret artist, for no apparent reason; later, she has a baby who grows up quickly into a little girl who may be one of M's victims. David Drake and Laura Latreille as Fritz and Schlitz, respectively, are right out of central casting as quintessential, heel-clicking Germans. Samantha Richert is a bawdy laundress, and the featured Little Girl is alternately played by Eva Jean Chapuran (at this performance) and Ava Rose Cooke.

With the outstanding work of her team of designers (Savage - scenic; Deb Sullivan - lighting; David Remedios - sound and original music; Garrett Herzig - projections), Lowans captures all of the grit and shadings of the noir aspect of the film which is difficult to do on the stage. Costume Designer Scott Martino, also on loan from the Gold Dust Orphans, combines the era, the noir, and the Germanic traits into the fashions. Puppets come into play for crowd scenes (Roxanna Myhrum, Puppetry Director) and some of the set pieces - especially the gingerbread house - are reminiscent of the Orphans' style, albeit on a bigger budget. Props, costumes, puppets, lights, sound, and cinematic effects - none of these disappoint and create the atmosphere necessary for the play to work. It's disappointing that it doesn't.

Photo credit: T. Charles Erickson (Karen MacDonald)

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