Review: 'ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS,' FEW LAUGHS

Written by Richard Bean (based on "The Servant of Two Masters" by Carlo Goldoni), with songs by Grant Olding; directed and staged by Spiro Veloudos; music direction and musical arrangements by Catherine Stornetta; scenic design, Matthew Whiton; costume design, Tyler Kinney; lighting design, Scott Clyve; sound design, Andrew Duncan Will; makeup and hair design, Emily Damron; dialect coach, Nina Zendejas; production stage manager, Nerys Powell; assistant director, Nicky Maggio; assistant stage manager, Margaret Kayes

Cast:

Dale Place, Charlie "The Duck" Clench; Tiffany Chen, Pauline Clench; Larry Coen, Harry Dangle; Alejandro Simoes, Alan; Aimee Doherty, Dolly; Davron S. Monroe, Lloyd Boateng; Neil A. Casey, Francis; McCaela Donovan, Rachel Crabbe; Dan Whelton, Stanley Stubbers; Harry McEnerny V, Gareth; John Davin, Alfie; Chuong Pham, Barman; James Blaszko, Policeman

Ensemble: James Blaszko, John Davin, Harry McEnerny, Chuong Pham

Performances and Tickets:

Now through October 12, Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon Street, Copley Square, Boston; tickets priced from $25-$65, seniors $10 off, student rush $10; available by calling the Box Office at 617-585-5678 or online at www.lyricstage.com.

Richard Bean's rollicking British comedy One Man, Two Guvnors (based on the 1743 Italian farce Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni) was widely praised when it landed on Broadway last season. It was said to deliver non-stop laughs in the high-energy, low-brow styles of Commedia dell' Arte and bawdy British Music Hall. Now the play is making its Boston premiere, and while there are moments of inspired improvisational genius, largely thanks to the at once impish and maniacal Neil A. Casey as the man/servant Francis, this Lyric Stage production lacks the sustained, unabashed, free-wheeling madness to make the comedy really take flight.

With a nonsensical plot more convoluted than the twisted streets of Boston, One Man, Two Guvnors needs to fire on all cylinders in order to make hay of the hash. At the press opening on September 8, the Lyric Stage production was more confusing than comical. Perhaps when the actors have settled more comfortably into their characters and the timing is more finely tuned, the farce will finally gel.

All of the stock characters that were mainstays in the Renaissance-era Commedia dell' Arte form are here, but transplanted to 1960s Brighton, England. We have the "servant" (a clownish Francis Henshall) who hires himself out to two "masters" (Rachel Crabbe, disguised as her street-tough brother Roscoe, and Stanley Stubbers, Rachel's preppy fiancé who also happens to have killed Roscoe); the star-crossed "lovers" (Pauline and Alan, she the sweet but dimwitted daughter of an underworld kingpin and he an addle-pated actor who's fashioned himself after Ringo Starr); and the interfering "elders" (said mob boss Charlie "The Duck" Clench and Alan's pompous lawyer-father Harry Dangle). Rounding out the bill is an amply endowed female "servant" to The Duck (the all-knowing accountant Dolly) who also becomes a comical love interest for the lusty Francis in Act II.

Very little of the story matters in One Man, Two Guvnors, which is a good thing because the twists and turns are nearly impossible to follow anyway. What does matter is the delivery, and here that is hit or miss.

The production is at its very best whenever Casey goes off script and improvises wildly with the audience. He also has a field day when quite literally wrestling with himself, pitting Francis and his alter ego Patty against each other in a schizoid battle of he said he said. The funniest scene by far, however, is the Act I closer in which Casey almost runs amok trying secretly to serve one dinner to two bosses. Running from one dining room to the next, doors slamming and food flying, he manages not only to feed Rachel/Roscoe and Stanley, but also his own voracious appetite, as well.

If only the rest of One Man, Two Guvnors could sustain the same level of exhilarated exaggeration it achieves in that festive first act finale. But too often the play dips into neutral with much of the cast either holding back or pushing too hard. Many are not as at ease with the farce as Casey is, so a consistent tone and tempo are never established.

Aimee Doherty as the buxom Dolly has a fine satirical moment when imagining a brighter future for Great Britain under feminine rule. Dan Whelton as Stanley Stubbers is a delightfully arrogant employer, fiancé and fop, and Alejandro Simoes nails the love-struck Romeo, misquoting and over-emoting from beneath his Beatles mop top. Tiffany Chen spins the dumb blonde trope nicely as mob daughter Pauline Clench. And John Davin as the octogenarian waiter Alfie shows effortless agility as he takes pratfall after pratfall into doors, walls, serving trays, and onto the stage floor.

The usually rock-solid McCaela Donovan seems miscast here, too girlishly petite and refined to fill the androgynous tough-talking boots of twins Roscoe and Rachel Crabbe. Dale Place as Charlie "The Duck" Clench and Larry Coen as the blustering Harry Bangle underplay their stock characters to the point of being nondescript. Davron S. Monroe as Lloyd Boateng adds a wink and a bit of spice to his Anglo-African nightclub owner. And Harry McEnerny V has deadpan fun as Gareth, the unaware head waiter who inadvertently sets up the mayhem at the end of Act I.

Rather lengthy musical interludes contribute to the British Music Hall flavor of One Man, Two Guvnors, but the 15 original songs by Grant Olding also significantly interrupt the play's comic flow. It's hard to believe that Olding's music was nominated for Best Score in 2012 over musical contenders Spiderman, Leap of Faith, and Lysistrata Jones. The songs add nothing to the story and could easily be jettisoned. They distract rather than entertain.

Costumes by Tyler Kinney aptly look like they were lifted from Carnaby Street storefronts, and several humorously suggest salient character traits, especially for Francis, Dolly and Alan. Sets by Matthew Whiton and lighting by Scott Clyve are more functional than farcical, and all-important sound design is well crafted and well timed. On the one occasion when a sound cue was missed, Casey covered by improvising effortlessly.

One Man, Two Guvnors is the kind of inconsequential British farce that an audience must simply surrender to in order to enjoy. With this Lyric Stage production, it would help if all of the cast members could surrender to its nonsense, as well.

PHOTOS BY MARK S. HOWARD: Neil A. Casey as Francis Henshall; the cast of One Man, Two Guvnors; Aimee Doherty as Dolly and Neil A. Casey; Alejandro Simoes as Alan with the cast; the ensemble and band