When patrons enter the Old Globe Theatre for Samuel Taylor’s 1958 Broadway comedy “The Pleasure of His Company,” the first thing they see is a lovely show curtain with mimosas painted on it. That curtain rises to reveal a picture-frame scrim, through which we see the living room of a beautiful old home built in 1880, and beyond, the room’s spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Off to the right is a solarium and to the left, the home’s entrance and ascending, a grand staircase with a landing from which one can see everyone below. That’s the picture painted by scenic designer Alexander Dodge and lighting director York Kennedy. Soon, there will be a parade of ’50s attire designed by Fabio Toblini, plus foghorns and more, courtesy of sound designer Paul Peterson.
Resident artistic director Darko Tresnjak has evoked time (1958) and place enough to remind one of the production capabilities and sensibilities of this fine regional theater. What else? Is the play merely a frothy period comedy? After all, the playwright had an assist from Cornelia Otis Skinner, who created the role of San Francisco socialite Katherine Dougherty (here played by Ellen Karas), who is deep in the throes of planning daughter Jessica Poole’s (Erin Chambers) wedding.
The play may certainly be appreciated for its surface charm, gorgeous setting and witty repartee. It’s likely that many will choose to see it that way. But for rebels that were raised in the era and in similar privileged circumstances, the script has a deeper resonance. Just below the surface froth and frills, Taylor and Skinner question the practices and priorities a society just beginning to ask itself if debutante balls, clubs, good works and trips to the Continent are enough. The most important question: should a young woman marry and settle into such a life before she discovers who she is?
The questioners are Mr. Pleasure himself, Katherine’s ex-husband and Jessica’s father, Biddeford Poole (Patrick Page), a rakish international playboy recently divorced from wife number three, and Katherine’s father, Mackenzie Savage (Ned Schmidtke), an aged, philosophic curmudgeon.
Biddeford arrives unexpectedly for Jessica’s wedding and settles into a room with a view. Intentionally or not, he upsets Katherine, her husband (Jim Abele) and Roger (Matt Biedel), Jessica’s gauche but earnest cattle-rancher fiancé. Though he threatens the equilibrium of family and society, Biddeford instantly charms Jessica, whom he hasn’t seen in 15 years, and establishes rapport with Toi (Sab Shimono), the family’s invaluable (and excruciatingly funny) servant.
Any production that features the likes of Page, Shimono and Schmidtke is in good hands, and Tresnjak proves once again his flair for comedy. This production is anything but his and the Shakespeare Festival’s poor relation. The women are sleek and well coiffed; the gentlemen are elegant; and the 11th hour mother-daughter confrontation is excellent. However, it is a challenge in certain scenes to catch the women’s dialogue. It happens on these large sets and with actors primarily occupied in film and television, and it is a problem that needs to be addressed.
“The Pleasure of His Company” continues at 7 p.m. Sunday; 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, through Aug. 10 at the Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park. For information, visit www.theoldglobe.org or call (619) 23-GLOBE.
Still time to see ‘Phantom’
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 Broadway musical “The Phantom of the Opera” hit San Diego’s Broadway/San Diego for the first time in nine years, and not a moment too late. Weary as one is of the hit tune (“Music of the Night”) and its numerous reprises and permutations in other numbers (did you ever notice that the melody repeats in “All I Ask of You”?), one admits to being taken as never before by the voices, the opulent costumes and the clever grand opera parodies.
Numerous Phantoms clamor for recollection, including Michael Crawford, Davis Gaines (the best), Robert Guillaume (the worst) and the film’s Glasgow-born rock singer, Gerard Butler. The voice of the current Phantom, lithe Richard Todd Adams, borders on the true tenor range rather than the usual high baritone. This makes the Phantom’s topmost range easier, though on July 19 Adams was not without strain. Thank god for microphones and loud orchestrations: they cover a multitude of sins that true opera singers, who are never amplified (except Andrea Bocelli, and that’s a gimmick) could never camouflage.
The rest of the leads are outstanding, too, especially John Whitney as the operatic tenor Ubaldo Piangi and his foil Kim Stengel as operatic diva suprema Carlotta Giudicelli. Both star in the Paris Opera parody productions, “Hannibal” and “The Triumph of Don Juan,” and participate in two septets straight out of Puccini. Marni Raab is an outstanding Christine (the Phantom’s protégée) and Greg Mills does what he can with the role of Raoul, her suitor.
“The Phantom of the Opera” continues at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 10 at the Civic Theatre, 3rd and B St. For tickets ($19-$127), visit www.broadwaysd.com or call (619) 570-1100 or (619) 220-TIXS.
