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Biloxi Blues What can be said about playwright Neil Simon that hasn't already been said? He's never written a deeply dramatic piece; the closest would be Proposals and Brighton Beach Memoirs. His plays have "dramatic moments," but are filled to the gills with one liners, and they are side splitting at times. One can sense Simon is trying to achieve dramatic tension and conflict in his works, but somehow he never fully achieves the dramatic arc that he so passionately tries to reach. While his works are entertaining, and boy can his productions fill the theaters in any city, they just don't go into the darker shades in which his colleagues wrap themselves. Not that he has to, but his works reflect his attempts to enter that shade of dramatic light, but alas only succeed in getting his foot in. Main Street Theatre brings to their audience Simon's Biloxi Blues, which is the second of his autobiographical plays. MST is a small theater company in Mansfield, which is one of the outside suburbs of Dallas/Ft.Worth. MST's mounting of Biloxi Blues does not have full, detailed sets or tons of lighting hanging from its rails. But you know what? You forget those things because of the company's highly qualified director and dedicated cast. My first view of director Matt Layton's work was Greater Lewisville Community Theater's production of Kander & Ebb's Cabaret. GLCT is like MST in several ways. Both are small spaces with no fly rail or wing space and lower budgets. Layton's production of Cabaret was in my opinion the best production ever done at GLCT. Once again he weaves his artistic magic in directing and bringing out solid performances from this cast. As with GLCT, Layton simply does not allow a small space to prevent him from providing a very enjoyable evening of theater. I admire his attention to detail, from the small pieces of furniture and props, to the music chosen for the scene changes. He also brings out of his group of actors fully fleshed out performances that do not go into overkill to bring the joke home. Instead Layton and his cast let the humor come naturally, almost as if by accident, but with precision timing, pace, and facial expressions. Unfortunately, however, the pace is hurt dearly by slow and cumbersome scene changes, stopping the emotion while the cast and crew change the set. Hopefully with more performances under their belt this problem will be rectified. Otherwise, Layton's direction is close to being right on the money. There are one or two choices that don't work, in particular the scene in which Joseph Wykowski (Joshua Roberts) has stolen Eugene's private diary and is reading out loud what he wrote about his Army roommates. In this diary, Eugene (Timothy McCarthy) has written that he suspects that Arnold Epstein (Chris Burnett) is gay. That scene is one of the very few dramatic scenes that Simon wrote. Burnett sits down on a bunk bed and begins to read out loud what Eugene wrote about him to the others, and right before he gets to the line about Eugene thinking Epstein might be gay, the actor crosses his legs (like a woman would), thus creating unintended laughs. This sorely wounds the scene as well as Burnett's hurtful emotion that is being explored. It stereotypes a certain group and this scene is not written for laughs. Timothy Ryan McCarthy leads the cast as Eugene (a role based on Simon himself). McCarthy is immensely charming and his stage presence works delightfully for both the production and the audience. His connection to the audience, since his character is the only one who talks to them, is a perfect connection between him and those sitting in the dark. McCarthy has a ball with the role, and it shows in his hilarious performance. His chemistry with his entire cast is top notch all the way. Whether comedy or drama, McCarthy delivers the proper goods for the emotion and scene. He is smashing! Joshua Roberts, who was hilarious as Brad this season in Sage & Silo's The Rocky Horror Show, adds another side splitting performance as the racist and self-serving Private Wykowski. Roberts again uses his face to bring another tier of comedy to his one liners and also handles the dramatic moments of his character with intensity. His is one of the strongest performances of the evening. Brian Prescott as Private Selridge also delivers the laughs during the evening. As Roberts' sidekick, Prescott is unerring. In his scene involving a "visit" with a hooker, he nails the comedy with both energy and timing. Private DJ Carney, the shy one who thinks he sings like Perry Como, is given an enjoyable performance by Heath Jones. At times throughout the evening Jones loses comic gold opportunities due to his lack of volume; he goes into a soft vocal patter that is difficult to hear. But when he speaks in a louder tone, his comic lines and acting work are met with laughter from the audience. Guy Seter is perfect as southern redneck Sgt. Toomey. Seter storms onto the stage with a booming voice and high energy. He oozes authority and machismo. Seter, like his fellow actors, hits the bull's eye in his comedy work. But he also wins in his dramatic scene in act two in which he is drunk and flies into a rage at a solder who has questioned the sergeant's authority and leadership tactics. Seter is fantastic. Quenby Seter plays Rowena with a whiskey soaked southern drawl that works like a charm for her character, who happens to be working in the "oldest profession." Seter, who is a voluptuous blonde, gives Rowena a wonderful shade of boredom with her day job. She has an attitude of "routine" in her job; she's bored and needs to keep the conveyer line of clients in her bedroom moving. Seter may have a small role, but she provides some of the biggest laughs of the evening. The stand out performance of the evening, however, is Chris Burnett's superlative performance as Private Epstein. His stage presence is incredibly strong and is matched by his acting work. The role has the only true arc, and Burnett delivers the appropriate emotion in the dramatic scene work, and gives a hysterical performance as well. Burnett wears his emotions and heart on his face; you see and feel his pain as his sexuality is brought into question among his fellow barrack buddies, or his faith is called into doubt. Burnett has unbreakable chemistry with each and every single actor around him. His intense scene with Seter's Sgt. Toomey is both tense and at times uncomfortable as he shows honest fear as the cold tip of the silver gun grazes his head. Not once does he break character; he is always 'in the moment.' Out of this very talented cast, he gives the best performance of the evening. While this production does not have the luxury of big sets and lighting, its cast and director is not hindered in the least. They instead give the audience a very worthwhile evening of theater. Biloxi Blues runs through April 6. Thurs, Fri, and Sat at 8:10 p.m. Call 817-473-6060 for tickets Biloxi Blues by Neil Simon CAST Private Eugene M. Jerome: Timothy Ryan McCarthy Private Arnold B. Epstein: Chris Burnett Private Joseph T. Wykowski: Joshua Roberts Private Roy T. Selridge: .Brian Prescott Sgt. Merwin J. Toomey: Guy Seter Private James J. Hennesey: Jesse Clinton Private Donald J. Carney: Heath Jones Daisy Hannigan: Autumn Pirkle Rowena: Quenby Seter |
