The Buffalo News
'The School for Scandal':
Gossip proves to be timeless
By Colin Dabkowski NEWS ARTS WRITER
Updated: 09/15/07 7:52 AM
No matter the political and social transformations of the modern world, the self-perpetuating hypocrisy of high society is a subject that never gets tired. How else can one explain the popularity of blogger Perez Hilton or the New York Post’s Page Six?
In the long and ongoing tradition of laying that hypocrisy bare on stage, perhaps no better or more timeless work exists than Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s “The School For Scandal.” Written in 1777, but perfectly relevant today, the play serves to place the irresistible gravitational pull of the scandal sheets and gossip pages into a hilarious historical continuum.
And the Irish Classical Theatre Company, as promised, has pulled out all the stops in this consummate production of the play. It’s a thoroughly rousing, three-hour comedy of battling egos, backstabbing deception and witty repartee — ICTC deeply in its element.
The costumes by Tessa Lew, sets by Craig Chapman, and especially the brilliant wigs by Susan Drozd are all top-notch, the better to complement a massive production that this company has been ruminating about for years.
The ICTC team, headed by director Derek Campbell, has assembled a vast and almost universally stunning cast, a collection of 18 separate personalities (played by 17 actors) that capture a vast range of emotions, from manipulative and unhinged to downright sterile. The plot revolves around a pernicious group of gossips, an unlikely couple with deep marital troubles and a pair of nephews out to gain the favor of their rich uncle.
The setting is Georgian England, but might as well be 20th or 21st century America. The cadre of gossips is headed by the eccentric and devious Lady Sneerwell, played by Josephine
Hogan, whose attitude could easily pass for Perez Hilton’s. Then there are her acolytes, among them the boisterous Mrs. Candour (Kelli Bocock-Natale) and the flamboyant gossips Crabtree (Peter Palmisano) and Sir Benjamin Backbite (Kurt Guba).
Then there’s Sir Peter Teazle (Vincent O’Neill), whose marriage to the much younger Lady Teazle (Leah Russo) provides fodder for O’Neill’s brilliant interpretation of the woe-is-me husband, who, as he says, was “never mistaken in [his] life.”
Neal Moeller, as the charming rapscallion Charles Surface, imbues the production with a sort of devious and vivacious youth. His ease in the role — a torrent of complex phrases and sometimes drunken rhapsodizing — makes the performance all the more magnetic.
Almost everything from Sheridan’s original translates well in this production, save his constant and sometimes jarring comic asides — a dramatic element much more common in his day but somewhat out of place for modern audiences. The fourth wall is pierced so many times and with such bumbling force as to make one wish that Sheridan had included fewer of these required comments, or, more to the point, that the actors would employ a bit more subtlety in their belabored execution.
All that aside, “The School For Scandal” is a formidable display of talent and a testament to what an all-Western New York cast and crew is capable of achieving.
Theater Review
“ The School for Scandal”
***1/2 (out of four)
Comedy presented by Irish Classical Theatre playing through Oct. 14 in Andrews Theatre, 625 Main St. For more information, call 853- 4282 or visit www.irishclassicaltheatre.com.
cdabkowski@buffnews.com
ARTVOICE
THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL
- by Anthony Chase
Opportunities to see Restoration comedy are relatively rare, but Ireland gave us both Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan and so we have been treated to productions of their plays by the Irish Classical Theatre Company. The School for Scandal, currently featured on the Andrews Theatre stage, is a handsome production with a wonderful cast headed by Vincent O’Neill as Sir Peter Teazle, with Leah Russo as Lady Teazle, Neal Moeller as Charles Surface and Tim Klein as his evil brother, Joseph.
While the verbose play was not yet firing all its pistons in perfect order for the opening, there was plenty to delight the eye, the ear and the funny bone.
The plot is impossibly (and pleasingly) convoluted, but briefly, Sir Peter has married a young wife from the country and is taken aback when she takes to life in the big bad city with such alacrity. Lady Teazle has become a woman of fashion, meaning she is spendthrift and has gotten herself in with a bad crowd. Her ladyship spends much of her free time with a group of friends headed by Lady Sneerwell, played by Josephine Hogan, a veritable den of vipers and gossip mongers, in short, a school for scandal.
To say that the production, directed by Derek Campbell, uses the Andrews Theatres arena stage inelegantly, is not to say that all is lost. The director would obviously be happier using a classical proscenium stage. As with his static Sons of Ulster…, he has lopped off a chunk of stage and audience. The effect is like seeing the play in a borrowed space, which is a shame, for the production elements are otherwise excellent. While an arena, with the audience on all sides, is difficult to use, the rewards can be substantial in terms of swift and dynamic playing. This might have lent itself to the presentational Restoration style quite admirably.
Subplots are the order of the day with Restoration comedy, and Sheridan artfully interweaves his in this play. The complications leading up to the inopportune discovery of Lady Teazle behind the screen, arguably the most famous scene in all of Restoration comedy, are tightly interconnected and amusingly motivated. It is vital to populate the characters with strong actors, and this production has those in abundance.
Neal Moeller deserves particular praise in the role of Charles. He charismatically maneuvers the comedy, creating a man of nonchalant charm worthy of Brian Bedford. He is strong in his every scene.
Leah Russo’s Lady Teazle is effervescently appealing, even as she perplexes her husband with her naïve adherence to the most superficial values imaginable.
Robert Rutland gives an admirable performance as Sir Oliver O’Neill, the much abused rich uncle of Charles and Joseph. Tim Klein is wonderful as duplicitous Joseph Surface, the man we all love to hate.
I found Todd Benzin delightful as Lady Sneerwell’s sidekick Snake and as Moses, the moneylender who helps Sir Oliver spy on his nephews. He plays each role with a slight air of detachment that lends them a wonderfully wry undercurrent of irony.
Kurt Guba as Sir Benjamin Backbite and Peter Palmisano as Crabtree throw themselves into their roles full throttle. They dangerously walk the line between fops and fags, however, a line which, for this gay critic, made the performances wander between the comic and the offensive. I found them entirely engaging in Act II, however, when they had more fully controlled and motivated their performance and when I had entirely forgiven them because of their undeniable craft as actors. Besides, they wear great wigs, courtesy of Susan Drozd (who has done exceedingly clever and witty work with all of the wigs). The handsome looking costumes are by Tessa Lew. The sets are by Craig Chapman, who manages the shifting locations with skill.
Anne Roaldi is sweet and lovely as Maria; Josephine Hogan, who almost always excels in substantial supporting roles, is appropriately and entertainingly nasty as icky Lady Sneerwell. Among the scandal mongers, Kelli Bocock-Natale stands alone with her brilliant performance as Mrs. Candour, a role last played in Buffalo (and unforgettably too) by the legendary Betty Lutes DeMunn. Bocock-Natale is splendidly funny as a woman addicted to unhappy news about others. Vincent O’Neill is a steady and lovable presence as Sir Peter, a husband who proves that nice guys need not finish last.
