Playwright: The Cast
At: TriArts at Breadline Theatre
Phone: (773) 866-8082; $15
Runs through: Dec. 14
Many players come to the cucina of commedia dell'arte but few can cook a stew. The four-person crew of Hfob-n-Tales cooks up a mini-feast; an engagingly grotesque sitcom that's child-like in style but adult in attitude with enough sex and violence to provide an edge.
Commedia dell'arte theater developed in Renaissance Italy and gained widespread popularity throughout Europe until the late 18th Century. It's semi-improvised stories were built around stock characters—the saucy servant, the young lovers, the old man, the obfuscating lawyer, etc.—easily identified by costume and, often, a mask. Commedia gave us such still-familiar characters as Harlequin, Pantaloon, Punchinello, Pierrot and Pierette and Punch and Judy.
Commedia had a tremendous influence on Shakespeare, Moliere, Goldoni and other authors and, certainly, on modern comedy. Trouble is, except for a few engravings and published scripts, there is no way for us to know what a commedia dell'arte performance really looked and sounded like. How much music was there (we know there was live music)? How licentious were they (we know they often were risque)? How much of the humor was verbal and how much was physical slapstick? Most modern efforts at commedia style look interesting, but fall flat in the humor department and in the execution of physical comedy.
Welll, the TriArts folks have their act together, not to mention their lazzi, which is the traditional term for comic business. In this, the fourth of their Hfob (pronounced 'hob' and means acrobatics) shows, they bring physical discipline and a refined mask style to their original story, which twists fairy tale traditions. Basically, it's about a nasty old man, his nastier wife and their wannabe-nastiest daughter competing for the coveted title of 'Creepiest of Them All' (Oz's Wicked Witch of the West is only 'So-So Creepy'). So daughter chops up Mom, and Dad coerces a lovely young virgin into marriage against her will. There's also a queen in a mirror—I don't mean royalty—a robot, pop-up sets, shadow puppets, and non-threatening interaction with the audience. The style is traditional but the sensibility is contemporary, with a swift hipness about it.
The four skillful players in this 70-minute show are Anthony Courser, Allison Latta, Bryce Somerville and Noel Williams, all nimble quick-change artists who play multiple characters. So complete are their be-wigged and masked physical character creations (notably assisted by Laura Jay's colorful costumes), and their vocal stylings, that it comes as surprise when they reveal themselves in the curtain call as young and attractive.
The revival of interest in physical theater—masks, puppets, clowning, etc.—of the last 20 years confirms the desire of artists and audience for a realm of the senses beyond psychological realism. Hfob-n-Tales delivers that realm with charm and style.