Review: ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS at A Noise Within

A Noise Within company member Kasey Mahaffy triumphs yet again with a tour-de-farce turn as a manservant trying to juggle two jobs in Richard Bean’s ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS. And he has a lot of help. Staged with take-no-prisoners verve by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, Bean’s romp of a play, (based on Goldoni’s THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS), is a joyride through a 60s England in which would-be actors ham it up gleefully, blondes are dizzy, would-be lovers are temporarily thwarted, and positively everybody is ready to cut loose to the strains of a Beatles-inspired skiffle band. Austin Powers , that time warped super-spy of filmdom, would have felt comfortably at home with the Crabbes, Clenches, Stubbers and Dangles of GUVNORS.

Powers being absent, we’ve got Mahaffy’s Francis Henshall, a man who, though resourceful, is – let’s face it – not particularly good at his job(s). Entirely buffeted by the whims of fate, Henshall has to figure things out entirely as he goes. Plus the poor guy is always hungry. How can anybody keep up with subterfuge when nobody affords you the time to sit down and … eat. If it seems that the increasingly frenetic Mahaffy is playing a character at war with himself, well that he is, and early on the “two” pugnacious servants actually beat themselves up. Fight choreographer Ken Merckx has a certain amount of smacking around to orchestrate among several of the players.

Not that GUVNORS is that kind of a play, peopled – as it is – with gents and ladies who are more lovers than fighters. These include Rachel Crabbe (played by Christie Coran), who spends the bulk of the play dressed up as her thug of a twin brother, Roscoe; and Stanley Stubbers (Ty Aldridge), Rachel’s beloved who is on the hunt for his sweetheart but doesn’t recognize Rachel because of the aforementioned disguise; Pauline Clench (Cassandra Marie Murphy who is supposed to marry Roscoe despite being in love with Alan Dangle (Paul David Story), a vainglorious actor. And Dolly (Trisha Miller), a criminal’s assistant who is looking for love, or at least open to the possibility.

Also on the scene are Pauline’s father, Charlie Clench (Henri Lubatti), Alan’s father, Harry (Lynn Robert Berg); Family friend Lloyd Boateng (Luis Kelly-Duarte), and Alfie (Josey Montana McCoy), a doddering waiter seemingly with a foot through death’s door until people figure out that turning up his pacemaker shoots him into hyperdrive. In a production this chock-a-block with pratfalls and physical schtick, McCoy is right up there leading the way. No mean feat given the “man” at the center.

At ground zero of this circus is Francis who begins the play as Roscoe/Rachel’s bodyguard but is immediately enlisted to serve Stanley who – entirely unbeknownst - is staying at the same Brighton inn as his beloved. The centerpiece of Act 1 is Francis’s effort to prepare lunch for his two guvnors and – since they’re not exactly paying close attention - for himself. As dexterous as Mahaffy’s Francis proves to be, this endeavor requires assistance from audience member helpers. You may consider yourself warned, GUVNORS attendees, fourth walls are made to be splintered and Francis may be coming to put you to work.

Inspired though it is by Goldoni’s commedia dell’arte classic, TWO GUVNORS is – from a plot perspective at least – pretty dopey and not always the easiest to track. This matters not a whit at A Noise Within where every scene in Rodriguez-Elliott and Elliott’s production contains something hilarious, delightful, cheeky or some combination thereof. Positively every actor in the company gets a moment to spin some comedic gold.

Story’s pretty boy Alan Dangle draws consistent laughs as he can’t figure out how to evenly split his devotion between his thespian craft, his inamorata, Pauline, and himself. For her part, Murphy brings a sweetness (and a spitfire’s pluck) to Pauline. Playing a character this much of a dimbulb is never as easy as Murphy (another of ANW’s most versatile company members) is making it look.  Aldridge and Coran skillfully indulge in romantic excess and play it straight opposite Mahaffy’s antics.

Speaking of whom, the red-headed actor has become a must-see performer at A Noise Within with recent credits ranging from MIDSUMMER NIGHT DREAM’s  Puck to a delicate turn as Alfie Byrne, the closeted, Oscar Wilde-loving bus driver in last season’s A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE. And now this lunacy. Francis Henshall is one of those rare showpieces for an actor of comic mettle which Mahaffy possesses by the bushelful. Not one to mug or clown, Mahaffy gives us a man who can convey befuddlement, desperation, love, and even a little bit of malevolence. The man was hired as a bodyguard, after all.

Adding greatly to the overall vibe are the England-hopping 60s scenery by Frederica Nascimento, Garry Lennon’s costumes, Ken Booth’s very groovy lighting and the live tunes of the skiffle band made up of Rod Bagheri, Cody Volk, Mike Selfridge and Art Pacheco. ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS begins and ends with a party, and we get to celebrate along every step of the way.

ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS plays through September 28 at 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena.

Los Angeles Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (Hollywood Bowl)

9.1% of votes

2. HAIR (Conundrum Theatre)

5.2% of votes

3. HEATHERS (Backyard Playhouse: Treetop Production)

5.2% of votes

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