BWW Reviews: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS - Five Stars! Laurels for Ron May!

Hurrah for performers who take big risks, who dare to extend themselves beyond their comfort zones, and deliver big time on their dare. Hurrah, therefore, for Ron May, the Founding Artistic Director of Stray Cat Theatre, who has been wowing audiences for the last several years with edgy and provocative productions (The Brothers Size, The TomKat Project) and worthy turns as an actor (Year of the Rooster, The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs) and, now, in Phoenix Theatre's production of Richard Bean's One Man, Two Guvnors, scales new heights with a laugh out loud and shining portrayal of a modern times harlequin.

Mr. May is an unadulterated hoot as Francis Henshall, a seemingly shiftless and oft-times bewildered chap with a seemingly insatiable hunger for both food (in the name of gluttony) and cash (in the name of love) who shifts into high gear to satisfy both by becoming the manservant to two men, each of whom is unwittingly and unknowingly interconnected to the other and unaware that they share Francis's services.

Here's where things get convoluted in the grand tradition of commedia dell'arte and one of that form's more celebrated plays, The Servant of Two Masters, which Mr. Bean has cleverly adapted and set in Brighton, England, 1963. And here's where a quick synopsis of the "comedic chaos" may be in order, but only quick because you must see the play to revel in its machinations and twists, masterfully directed and choreographed by Pasha Yamotahari:

Guvnor #1 is Roscoe Crabbe, a local badass a.) who is engaged to Pauline Clench (Ashley Stults), "unspoiled by education," the daughter of scrap metal entrepreneur Charlie Clench (Robert Kolby Harper) and b.) who has been murdered by, as it turns out, Guvnor #2, Stanley Stubbers (Michael Kary), who, in turn is the beloved of Roscoe's sister Rachel (Jenny Hintze), who is actually posing as her deceased brother. Meanwhile, Pauline is however in love with Alan Dangle (Lucas Coatney) an aspiring actor whose histrionics about his undying love are like Cyrano on steroids. Francis fancies Dolly, Clench's sensuous bookkeeper, Dolly (Marisa Butler) and thus defines his motivation to do double duty and earn enough to whisk her away to Majorca.

Mr. May navigates through this madcap scenario like Looney Tunes' Tasmanian devil, periodically engaging the audience in his quest for food and on-stage assistance. May's physicality and improvisational smarts are fully and richly on display as are the rich talents of the marvelous ensemble that Mr. Yamotahari has assembled.

Rounding out the cast are David Barker, Walter Belcher, Joseph Kremer, and Alan Ruch. I am compelled, however, to give a special note of acclaim to Alli Villines who carries off the role assigned to her with a magnificent spark of authenticity and credibility.

There is so much in this work that reminds one of the golden days of vaudeville or the pranks and pratfalls of a Buster Keaton or a Lou Costello or even the tongue twister phrases that Johnny Carson articulated on late night TV. There's an absolutely delightful exposition on the attributes of monozygotic twins. There's the prescient, if not overly optimistic, forecasting about what life and politics might be like some twenty years after.

Clever stuff indeed ~ all the way through this gloriously funny production, complemented by Nick Mozak's splendid set design and Cari Sue Smith's well-tailored costumes.

One Man, Two Guvnors continues its rollicking run on the Mainstage Theatre at Phoenix Theatre through June 14th.

Photo credit to Erin Evangeline Photography