David Mamet's play opens at Actors’ Theatre, a courtroom farce that's anything but innocent
With “Romance,” talented author cum playwright cum screenwriter cum film director David Mamet has created an offbeat play. With Tony nominations for “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “Speed-the-Plow,” and Oscar nominations for The Verdict and Wag the Dog, Mamet’s prolific productions journey into the inner recesses of the human spirit.
Brought to life by local directors Debbie Quigg and Jeff Dinnell, the play’s all-male cast of seven ranks high in entertainment value, with adroit, laconic dialogue that can’t help but keep the audience constantly entranced. Simultaneously, the characters’ physical antics create a visual extravaganza, causing the audience to come together in raucous laughter. The premise for “Romance” is a courtroom with a disheveled, dottering judge, played by Greg Paroff, whose hypochondriacal tendencies and pill-popping fanaticism lead him into constant drug-induced stupors; a self-righteous defendant played by co-producer and co-director Jeff Dinnell that takes the stand against the wishes of his equally sanctimonious defense attorney played by Morgan Stryker. Davis Banta portrays the bailiff, sporting a geeky mustache a la Lieutenant Dangle in "Reno 911" (but thankfully sans short shorts). Nathan Caracter, who plays Bernard, goes over the top with an endearing gayness that can’t help but put a smile on your face. With nothing to cover his birthday suit but a leopard speedo and fuzzy white bunny slippers in his first scene, Caracter combines panache and verve with voracious vitality. Greg Flowers rounds out the cast by playing a doctor that makes an emergency visit to the courtroom when the judge seems to have overdosed on medication.
This quirky story is a farcical love triangle in which the defendant, a Jewish chiropractor, has snuck off to Hawaii and had an affair with the boyfriend of the gay prosecutor. The entire story revolves around the courtroom, and the idea that a peace conference is happening down the street. As the details of the story unravel amidst the frenetic pace, the story catapults into a whirlwind of hilarious yet unbelievable scenes. From the chiropractor declaring he can create world peace through adjusting the backs of Middle Easterners, to the moment Bernard—Bunny—storms into the courtroom and declares he has left his boyfriend the prosecutor because he, “burned the roast,” and the doped-up judge that randomly quips, “Did you know Theodore Roosevelt was a Mulatto?” it is obvious that this play is a jovial wonderland of ridiculous malapropisms. Certain lines such as “At the dentist do you say, ‘they’re my teeth, let me help,’” “He dresses like a Midwestern pet shop owner,” and “An Episcopalian is a Catholic with a Volvo,” are so masterfully executed that one can’t help wishing for a quicker wit.
Throughout the production, derogatory terms like wasp and goy are tossed around as nonchalantly as a baseball in the backyard. While there is a potential that these words will make some viewers uncomfortable, judging by the loud guffaws emanating from those around me, the general consensus of the audience is that it is all in good humor.
Through good, old-fashioned bawdy humor, combined with a dash of outlandish racism, sexism, and practically every other ‘ism’ you can think of, “Romance” brings a diverse audience together in a common, united desire for some unorthodox entertainment.
“Romance” runs through Nov. 22 at the Actors’ Theatre, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. Showtimes are at 8 p.m. with a 3 p.m. showing on Sunday, Nov. 16 Tickets are $15/general; $12/students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased by calling 425-3367 or visit ticketguys.com .
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