Scapino! Presented by the Barebone's Theatre Company

Scapino!, the current offering from the Barebones Theatre Company, is a zany, hilarious, and fun time. Running through April 28^th, the company takes residence at the Posey School of Dance studio on Main Street in Northport.

Written by Frank Dunlap and Jim Dale, this play was originally on Broadway in the mid 70's and is liberally based on Moliere's Les Fourberies de Scapin. Mr. Dale starred in the original production and was nominated for a Tony for the role of Scapino.

In Mr. Dale's role for this Alex Edwards-Bourdrez directed incarnation was Christopher Hackert. Mr. Hackert wonderfully portrayed Scapino who is a charming smooth talker that manipulates the villagers of Naples, Italy. He intends to help two couples marry as both sets of parents oppose the nuptials. Scapino's quick thinking and sharp tongue brought many laughs from the sold out audience.

Another highlight was Aimee Berlin as Argante, the domineering mother of Occtavio, portrayed by Michael Mckenna. Interestingly, Argante is traditionally portrayed by a man. When asked, Jeff Bennett, Barebones' Artistic Director, said "Alex (Edwards-Bourdrez) decided to cast Argante as a woman to offer a greater range of possibilities for our actresses." This seemed very effective, too. This switch was wonderful for this particular play as the majority of the cast is men. Argante was quite a substantial role and Ms. Berlin portrayed the role flawlessly.

While the rest of the cast was, of course, top notch, the only thing that could have been better would be the set. Mind you, this is a dance studio so there is no stage, just a few ascending rows for the audience. Taking place on a waterfront café, the water portion of said café was blue tarp. Also, I held my breath on several occasions as the some of the set teetered as there was a chase scene and when the actors switched between the different parts of the set.

Besides that worrying, Scapino! will put you in an uplifting mood leaving the theatre. The delivery of the cast was on point, and under the direction of Mr. Bourdrez, everyone involved with this production wonderfully did more with less.

Scapino! is presented by the Barebones Theatre Company through April 28^th at the Posey School Of Dane on Main Street in Northport. Written by Frank Dunlap and Jim Dale based on Moliere's Les Fourberies de Scapin, Directed by Alex Edwards-Bourdrez, Set Design by Philip Jordan, Lighting Design by Michael Visco, Sound Design by Larry Chorowski, Stage Management by Peter Williams. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call (631) 757-9616 or visit ww.barebonestheater.com.

Photo #1 by Alan Pearlman- Christopher Hackert (Scapino) and Bob Kaplan (Geronte)

Photo #2 by Alan Pearlman - Bob Kaplan (Geronte) and Aimee Berlin (Argante)