Photo by Daren Scott
Lauren King Thompson (left) and Samantha Wynn Greenstone in Animal Crackers
It’s supreme silliness and comic anarchy when the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo and, to a lesser extent, Zeppo) are center-stage in Animal Crackers, the 1928 musical that became a beloved film two years later. When they’re not center-stage and the action turns to tap dancing and handsome couples in love crooning to each other, Animal Crackers loses its crunch. Back in the late ‘20s, when audiences gobbled up things like tap dancing and cute crooning, the charm most likely never waned. While Cygnet Theatre’s production of Animal Crackers doesn’t intend to suggest that times have changed, they most assuredly have.
Josh Odsess-Rubin’s Groucho, Spencer Rowe’s Chico, Samantha Wynn Greenstone’s Harpo and Bryan Banville’s Zeppo (the “serious” one) ignite constant hilarity during this long-winded show (Act One alone is 80 minutes). Melinda Gilb in particular provides amusing support as a flustered foil, but much of Animal Crackers turns wearying (more so than in the 97-minute movie) with its incidental “plot” and the drawn-out devices that seek to hold it together.
Animal Crackers runs through Aug. 13 at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. $43 and up; cygnettheatre.com
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Right off the bat, playwright Nagle Jackson should have second-guessed himself when he titled his ‘80s comedy At This Evening’s Performance. It’s not what anyone would consider an attention grabber. Alas, neither is the play itself, which under the direction of Andrew Barnicle closes North Coast Repertory Theatre’s 35th season. There is certainly potential for hilarity in the set-up: A contentious theater troupe in the mythical European nation of Strevia is forced to perform “the classics” at the behest of the oppressive political party in power. Toss in the threat of the assassination of someone in the cast, and we’re all set, right?
But the guffaws and gesticulations exhaust themselves early in the going, and we’re left with what feels like a script Mel Brooks might have rejected as not nearly clever enough. Within the dutiful sevenperson ensemble, only Richard Baird as the scowling stage manager fits into the spirit of what playwright Jackson apparently intended: physical, unadulterated farce.
At This Evening’s Performance runs through Aug. 6 at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. $43 and up; northcoastrep.org
Opening:
Tick, Tick… Boom!: A staged reading of Jonathan Larson’s (of Rent fame) autobiographical musical about a struggling playwright in ‘90s New York City. It happens July 27 at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla. sdcjc.org
Pump Up the Volume: A “musical ‘90s-Palooza” where seven strangers travel back to the days of grunge and raves only to find themselves out of step. Presented by San Diego Musical Theatre, it opens July 28 at the Horton Grand Theatre in Downtown. sdmt.org
Kill Local: A second-generation assassin begins to question the merits of her job in this black comedy from new playwright Mat Smart. Directed by Jackson Gay, it opens Aug. 1 at the La Jolla Playhouse. lajollaplayhouse.org
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A public performance of Shakespeare’s fantastical comedy filled with fairies, an Amazon queen and an honest Puck. Presented by North Coast Repertory Theatre School, it opens Aug. 2 for five performances at La Colonia Community Center in Solana Beach. northcoastreptheatreschool.org