Tangerines and Cherries / Cherries and Tangerines? Not like apples and oranges but
still a tough comparison.
Antaeus does the Los Angeles theatre world a favor with their tradition
of creating two complete casts for their productions. The chemistry of who plays what character and with whom is extremely
interesting to watch and though comparisons are not all together a good idea,
they are inevitable.
The Sunday matinee of The
Liar came off beautifully timed and well acted, but with a slightly
different energy. These are all
professional actors. They are well
rehearsed and meet the demands of the text, which are considerable. Kudos again to
director Casey Stangl.
Traditionally, Antaeus creates names for their separate casts, but this
time, it’s a slightly jumbled mix and match of characters which meant that a
couple of the actors from Thursday’s opening night, Jules Wilcox (sexy Clarice)
and Jonathon Lamer (bigger and crisper in his second shot at Philiste) came to
play at the Sunday matinee.
 | ||
| Jules Willcox as Clarice, Ann Noble as Lucrece Photo by Geoffrey Wade |
David Ives’ adaptation of Corneille’s play is the key, of
course. His purposeful doggerel works
so very well. The brilliant script
is contemporary and still maintains the flavor of the times, almost
Shakespearean. He cribs a bit from
Hamlet here; a sonnet there, much to the delight of the audience. It is a play
for lovers of the Theatre. The
energy seldom flags.
A matinee somehow is not the same as an evening performance.
It’s the middle of the day. The
words are all the same, though interpretations must vary to suit the individual
actor. Where Bo Foxworth as
Alcippe is compact and frenzied, Sunday’s Alcippe, Joe Delafield is more rangy.
He, too, is wild but obsessed in completely different way. As Lucrece, Ann Noble, is a ringer for
her sister player, Joanna Strapp.
Noble reminded me of Poison Ivy Rorschach of The Cramps. Strong choices.
Brian Slaten’s Cliton is barely a triple digit IQ and at once a perfectly hip and
happening narrator for the play.
Graham Hamilton as Dorante approaches his Liar with great
confidence. To be a master liar,
you must have a great memory and his work is well done, even the forgetful
parts.
Karen Malina White as the twins, Isabelle and Sabine, serving
Clarice and Lucrece, was slightly difficult to understand from time to time, but
the delineation of the two disparate characters still worked. Antaeus staple, Robert Pine as Geronte,
allowed his beats to syncopate from time to time but scored the only ovation on
his exit from completing a complicated speech.
The matinee emerged from the same deep well of Casey
Stangl’s vivid imagination and holds up beautifully. It’s impossible not to
compare performances, one to another and impossible not to have a favorite or
two. The upside is that whichever
cast that you may choose to see, and I recommend that anyone within the sound of my
‘voice’ must get to NoHo to see this show, laughs are guaranteed. The
performances are so worth the effort that you must become another advocate for The Liar. Which ever cast you choose, you’ll leave the theater smiling
and ready to tell a friend.
Pierre Corneilles’s THE
LIAR
"slapadapted" by David Ives
"slapadapted" by David Ives
Antaeus Theatre Company
5112 Lankershim Boulevard
NoHo, CA 91601 (1 ½ blocks south of Magnolia)
Two casts Opens October 10, 2013
Continues Thursdays through Sundays
Closes December 1, 2013
Call theater or check website for specific casts, dates and
times
818 506 1983
$34.00 Top
Michael Sheehan
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