Playwright: Matt Engle. At: Factory Theater at Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave. Tickets: 866-811-4111; www.thefactorytheater.com; $20. Runs through: Sept. 2
On one side, we have a Renaissance Faireits mission, to provide citizens stressed by modern life an escape to the magic of a mythic kingdom where gallantry and courtesy reign. On the other, we have a Wild West show celebrating the racism, sexism, hypocrisy, violence, inhumanity and testosterone-fueled manifest destiny that made our country what it is today. This is how Matt Engle's slapstick comedy draws the lines, anyway.
His plot is likewise simplistic: Bill Pickens, jingoistic promoter of cowboy culture, wants to open a water-park on land currently occupied by hippie-ish Dave Wheeling's ersatz-Avalon with its Eurocentric (!) ambience. Pickens and his henchmena collection of horse-opera stock typesconspire to seize the property teetering on the brink of foreclosure. Before these villains get their comeuppance, however, we are introduced to cavalier Hero (that's his NAMEhonest!) and his newly-hired co-star, Andy. Their allies include a pair of motley-clad clowns who recite film dialogue in period verse ("Raging Bull" is their favorite), a lecherous King Henry VIII, and assorted musicians and vending wenches, one of whom moonlights as the Faire's Apothecary-Feelgood.
This live-action cartoon serves up the obligatory slapstick shenanigans, bawdy jests, intricate swordplay, secret lovers, saloon brawls, and Broadway-styled song-and-dance numbers. We are also rendered privy to orations in hairy-geezer gibberish (think Gabby Hayes) and sly asides by a Polish-immigrant Miss Kitty, with additional running gags supplied by, among other quirks, Hero's propensity for accidentally injuring his fight-partners, and a double-agent defector who switches from a faux English accent to an equally faux Texas drawl as his allegiances shift.
The 80 minutes required for this Factory Theatre revival to reach its conclusion is utilized more efficiently than in its premiere in 2007. The swiftly-paced action now permits the occasional quiet moment, allowing us to savor the artistry necessary to keep this kind of madcap mayhem from spilling out of control. Nowhere is this more evident than in the final showdown, triggered by a blades vs. bullets duel, then quickly escalating to a full-cast melée in which fantasy champions of all lineagesKlingons, Harry Potter, Penguinsjoin in the fracas, rallied by the martial music of RenFaire-muse Jethro Tull. See if this doesn't have you cheering, whether with a "huzzah" or a "hyee-haw" (or wondering what they put in the mead, at least).