Playwright: George Bernard Shaw
At: ShawChicago at the Ruth Page Center For The Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn
Phone: ( 312 ) 409-5605; $10-$30
Runs through: April 15
BY MARY SHEN BARNIDGE
Over a century after the American Revolution, its events provided George Bernard Shaw an irresistible opportunity to lampoon both upstart Yankees AND his fellow Englishmen. The first is done by recounting how circumstances spur an avowed pacifist to turn fire-breathing, gun-toting rebel insurrectionist, while a self-proclaimed outlaw suddenly discovers in himself the stuff of heroic sacrifice. The second is accomplished by attributing the occupying army's defeat to a bureaucratic bungle.
The plot employs the familiar mistaken-identity trick: The amoral Dick Dudgeon's rejection of his rock-ribbed family's values has earned him the sobriquet of 'the devil's disciple.' But when British soldiers surprise him at tea with the minister's wife, he allows himself to be arrested in her husband's stead, though it means he will certainly be hanged as an example to the unruly colonists. Upon learning of this noble deed, the Reverend Anderson promptly sets forth to rescue him from the gallows with the aid of guerrilla troops. The deus ex machina that saves them both, however, is a drone in the London war office whose vacation delays the order for reinforcements, forcing the outnumbered redcoats' surrender.
ShawChicago, renowned for its chamber readings, embarks on its first full production, with actors previously confined to a row of chairs now free to move about. And move they do! If the Red Grooms-styled scenic design ( credited to the perhaps-pseudonymous 'Ambrose Chaple' ) or the dialogue-punctuating incidental music--yep, EXACTLY like a melodrama, or a parody of one--selected by Scotty Iseri doesn't alert our expectations, Martin Yurek's swaggering entrance as the Pirates Of The Caribbean-sized Dudgeon affirms the scale for this rendition of Shaw's insightful witticisms recited by personalities portrayed in Mel Brooks proportions. ( For example, why do the arresting officers, led by Dana Wall's scene-stealing sergeant, not suspect an impostor upon noting that their puritan clergyman sports a gaudy earring? )
The looney-tunes pace and substantial edits mandated by director Robert Scogin bring the show home in just over 90 minutes while never breaking stride or succumbing to shrill excess. And since, as General Burgoyne philosophically observes, 'History will tell lies, as usual,' all we need to do is enjoy the fun.