Acting Out


Reviewed 3/19/05

In the grand manner of a farce the likes of Desert Foothills Theatre’s recent offering of Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Tenor, but without as strong a script or plot, Moon Over Buffalo is another backstage vehicle. The Buffalo of the title refers to the backwater town in upstate New York where, in the midst of the run-down mid-50s repertory tour of B-level stars George and Charlotte Hay, their one big Hollywood break may or may not materialize. Originally written as a vehicle for Carol Burnett, the play enjoyed a run on Broadway of 309 performances and has since become the staple of community theatres after they have produced Ludwig’s better known and better-written work. DFT’s current mounting is an amiable production with two great performances, a host of fair to middling ones, and a couple of unimpressive offerings. This is a case of a script getting exactly the production it deserves.

George and Charlotte (Roy Hunt and Jan Clevenger) have a shot at landing leads in Frank Capra’s latest, but before they can perform Private Lives (or is it Cyrano?) Charlotte must decide whether or not she’s leaving George for suave entertainment lawyer Richard (Norman Sheriff) after she has discovered George has impregnated their ingénue Eileen (Cristen Erber). Their daughter Rosalind (Shannon Whirry) has just happened to bring her staid weatherman fiancé Howard (Louis Baca) when her former fiancé Paul (Richard Briggs) has returned to manage the company. All of this goes on while Charlotte’s mother Ethel (Janice Lombardos) blunders deafly through the backstage area. The plot is as forced as you can get, but it does give some interesting moments to each of the performers.

Of course, it’s what the performers do with those moments that decides whether or not this is a successful production. Ken Bridges’ cast is top heavy. He has concentrated on getting his best performances from Hunt and Clevenger, and doesn’t really seem worried about getting anything resembling involvement in such performers as Lombardos and Baca. He has kept the pacing lively and the stage pictures simple. He knows the types of physical comedy of which Hunt is capable, and he utilizes it fully to excellent effect. Though Clevenger does not have quite the presence of a 50s film diva in decline, she gives a solid comedic performance with flashes of brilliance. Bridge's has also worked well with Briggs, who is consistent and quite funny.

Bridges is able to draw some of those moments from the others, though less consistently. Whirry is a bit too plastic in performance and stiff in line delivery, especially at the start, but really comes into her own during the Private Lives fiasco, settling in for a boffo finish. Baca, however, rises only to the occasion of his nuttiest moment, underplaying the remainder of his stage time. Lombardos is even worse, with a vocal presentation style that seems more like uninflected line reading than actual acting. With little to do, Erber and Sheriff remain set pieces and plot movers.

DFT has offered so much more in terms of design elements in the past that this recreation of a shabby backstage is rather underwhelming. Ed Como’s box set is appropriately grungy and has the requisite number of doors for the farce, but lacks imaginative levels or details. Mark Harris’ lighting is flatter than the flats that mark the edge of this working space, and I could not see a single colored gel in the entire plot. The result is a headache-inducing design. Diane Welle’s costumes are nicely period. Christopher Scinto’ssound design ran into many problems during the run.

Bridges knows that one important thing can mean the difference between a good show and bad: a genuine spark between his leads. Hunt and Clevenger have it, and that’s what raises this production above mediocrity. There are some genuine belly laughs available here, even if there are just as many missed opportunities and walk-throughs.