Entertaining Mr. Sloane: A Walk on the Wild Side

Mr. Sloane has been entertaining us since 1964, when prostitution, bisexuality and murder were still shocking and not subplots on Will & Grace. (I kid, of course. Will & Grace has never had an episode about bisexuality.) Joe Orton's scathing black comedy of no manners appalled audiences when it premiered in the swinging '60's, and has managed to remain just as darkly hilarious forty years later. Standards may change over decades, but a good sneering at conventions (both theatrical and societal) will always be fun. The current off-Broadway revival of Entertaining Mr. Sloane, starring Alec Baldwin, Chris Carmack, Richard Easton, and Jan Maxwell is a giddy indulgence in cruelty and manipulation, and not a little bit fun for all that.

The story is the stuff of classic farce and melodrama, as reimagined by the Marquis de Sade: lonely Kath (Ms. Maxwell) takes the titular lodger (Mr. Carmack) into her isolated London townhouse, where both she and her brother (Mr. Baldwin) fall for him, and their father (Mr. Easton) recognizes him as a wanted murderer. As brother and sister fight over Mr. Sloane's attentions and sexual favors, their father tries to warn them of his true nature, and Mr. Sloane himself does whatever necessary to enjoy the good life. Each of the characters (save the befuddled father) manipulates all of the others to their own selfish ends, no one behaves very well, and just when you think someone is going to do the right thing... well, don't get your hopes up. It's the blackest of black comedies, with a healthy dose of satire thrown in for good measure.

What makes Entertaining Mr. Sloane as, well, entertaining and shocking today as it was forty years ago is the sadistic glee it takes in such bad behavior. Had Orton cast judgment on his characters for their actions, the play would be infinitely weaker and less amusing, though possibly easier to swallow. This is not a play that asks us to sympathize with the protagonists– indeed, they are all utterly, unapologetically unsympathetic, though not without charm. That charm is often the only thing keeping the play from sinking completely into its very blackness and being overwhelmed.

And much of that charm comes from the very apt actors. As Kath, the always-reliable Jan Maxwell ranges from repulsive to heartbreaking, perfectly capturing the nuances of an emotionally stunted woman who may not be as clueless as she appears. Chris Carmack is a vision in black leather as the titular Mr. Sloane, and revels in his characters degeneracy and amorality. Malice, violence and sex appeal ooze from every pore, and despite his character's horrifying qualities, it is not hard to see why everyone wants him. Richard Easton is sweetly tragic as the perpetually bewildered father, and makes his character refreshingly sympathetic. The weakest link in the cast is Alec Baldwin, who is admittedly severely limited by the script's rather two-dimensional treatment of his character. Ed may be the funniest character in the play (and Mr. Baldwin does nail the humor quite well), but he is also the least layered, and therefore the least interesting. Delivering anti-Wildean bon mots, however, he does quite nicely. Scott Ellis' direction is sharp and well-timed, nicely balancing suspense with humor.

Entertaining Mr. Sloane

Photographs by Joan Marcus, courtesy of www.roundabouttheatre.org