Riotous 'School for Scandal' at Everyman

            With The School for Scandal, Everyman Theatre has mounted its largest production to date – the largest cast, the most sets, the most costumes – and according to production notes this production has long been on its "to do" list.  Well, this enormous production was well worth the wait.  Literally every single aspect of this production is superlative, so please forgive me if my adjectives of praise repeat or sound like a thesaurus.

            Written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in the 1700's, and a favorite of our first president, this comedy of manners is being presented in an adaptation written nearly 200 years to the day later by Michael Bawtree.  The adaptation, originally written as a screenplay, is being presented for the very first time before a live audience.  And well over 200 years after its premiere, The School for Scandal is as timely and outrageously funny today as it must have been in the years following the American Revolution.  It seems shocking to say, but the behavior of the classes hasn't really changed at all – the high class snobbery is as snooty now as then and the common folk as low brow as ever. Of course, the joke is really on the audience – we are really laughing at ourselves.

            Desperate Housewives and any number of soap operas owe a huge debt of gratitude to The School for Scandal, as it features at least two such desperate ladies, milking the rich for money, playboys run amok, drinking and debauchery, mistaken identities and enough plot twists to last any TV show at least two seasons!  Add to that outrageously campy costumes (19 actors, 28 roles, 36 costumes!), including huge wigs (25!), and absolutely ingenious sets (5!) and props (148!), and you have a theatrical event of epic proportions.  The designs are by Gail Stewart Beach (costumes), Anne Nesmith (wigs), Daniel Ettinger (sets) and Liza Davies (props).  The sheer magnitude of what these designers have accomplished is praise-worthy, but the quality achieved is near Broadway level.  And when one factors in the lack of space available, the production becomes even more mind blowing.  Each set, literally flying toward the audience, was greeted by well-deserved cheers of approval on opening night.  While I have never been one to subscribe to the applauding of sets, even I joined in.  It was really hard to believe what I was seeing, particularly as each time the main doors were closed then opened, a completely new set was revealed.  Each set, deliberately cartoonish in color and presentation, was perfectly matched by deliciously racy period costumes, at once both dead-on and a send up.  I would love to have been a fly on the wall at those production meetings!  Bravo, design team!

            No matter how magnificent the scenery and costumes, though, the play would have been disastrous with out top notch acting from top to bottom.  Director Vincent M. Lancisi has assembled the best ensemble cast imaginable, and has directed them flawlessly.  Over-the-top scenery chewing is normally a derogatory acting choice, but here is has been raised to an art form.  Every member of the cast has impeccably sharp timing, and that rarest of rarities, complete chemistry.  The give and take in each scene, the knowing when to hold back while others shine are all those intangible things that a director has no real control over – you either have it, or you don't – and the Scandal company has it to spare.  Lancisi opens each scene with a dazzling and gut-bustingly hilarious tableau that wordlessly sets the tone and setting.  One can picture him moving chess pieces around a mock up of the set, so intricate and precise is the blocking.   Nicely balancing the lavish spectacle are a few moments of simplicity that are equally a scream – particularly the opening scene which takes place on a buggy.  You'll have to just see it to fully appreciate it.  Even the scene changes add to the proceedings.

            I wish I had time and space to write a note about each company member.  They are all that good.  Suffice it to say that all of the superlatives I am about heap upon the main cast apply equally to every single member of this company.  In the supporting roles of the town gossips and manipulators, three Everyman regulars reach new heights of comic brilliance.  Helen Hedman as Lady Sneerwell takes her character's name to heart as she sneers and cajoles anyone within her nasty reach.  She takes bitchiness to a new evil and hilarious level.  Every bit her equal is the brilliant comic stylings of Bruce Nelson in the dual roles of Snake and Benjamin Backbite.  Naturally, as Snake, the he-bitch, Nelson's delivery is venomous and deadly funny.  His Benjamin Backbite, as the name implies exists simply to stab his fellow man in the back.  Gossip, innuendo and scandal are this man's food.  Wrap all of that up in a powdered wig, throw in a snappy hanky and you get Nelson as a droll, uproariously grand fop.  Finally, Rosemary Knower as Mrs. Candor is a hoot as the town gossip, alternately delighted at bringing down her neighbors and being shocked that people are talking.  She is priceless in her realization that some bit of juicy gossip has been told around town before she got to start it!

            There are five main roles played by five sublime actors.  Lady Teazle (Megan Anderson), as the name implies is a bit of a tease, aided by the fact that she has married a man considerably older than she – why wouldn't her eye wander?  Anderson, as always, commands the stage whenever she is on, but here she does so with remarkable grace and even a little downplaying, which offers a nice respite from the mayhem around her.  That is not to say she isn't comical – just the opposite – in some very well-chosen moments she lets the humor explode out of her with a wide-eyed innocence mixed with an I'm-in-control air – think Lucy at her finest.  Carl Schurr as her aged husband, is a delight as he survives each plot twist Anderson throws his way.  His double takes, fits of exasperation, and asides to the audience are theatrical and hugely amusing.  Wil Love, playing Oliver Surface (and many other roles in disguise) seems to be having the time of his life.  The devilish gleam in his eye is infectious, and you find yourself rooting for him throughout.  All three seasoned veterans of Everyman continue to grow and expand their amazing repertoire of acting gifts.

            Finally, in the two plot-central roles of the Surface brothers, Patrick Tansor and Alexander Strain are nothing short of amazing.  In the story, the brothers are, at least on the surface (get it?), polar opposites.  Tansor's Joseph appears to be the very picture of moral uprightness and societal do-goodery, while Strain's Charles is a lazy playboy, drinking, boozing and wasting his family fortune on a daily basis.  Mr. Tansor's uptight, moral high brow routine is priceless, particularly in contrast to his frantic, slime ball asides and manipulations later in the play.  Mr. Strain wisely infuses a slight warmth and caring throughout his otherwise roguish performance so we can see and believe from the get go, that in spite of his obvious shortcomings, his heart is in the right place.  As the play comes to its inevitable conclusion, both actors (and the company for that matter) leave you laughing and caring.

            The ads promise big hair, big surprises and bigger laughs.  The show delivers that and much more.  Be sure to add this delicious, scandalous comedy to your holiday plans – what a welcome respite from the mad rush of this time of year!

 

 

 

PHOTOS: By Stan Barouh.  MAIN PAGE & TOP: Patrick Tansor and Megan Anderson; MIDDLE (1): Helen Hedman, Bruce Nelson and Rosemary Knower; MIDDLE (2): Carl Schurr and Wil Love; BOTTOM: Alexander Strain and Patrick Tansor.

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