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Some People Call Them Weasels Before you even enter the Ridgela Theater, beware that the title of this comedy has nothing to do with the actual story line or its plots. In fact, the title comes from what playwright Brandon Safford misheard one night at a restaurant called Ole South. He asked if what he heard had actually been said, then laughed and thought that this would be an interesting title for a play. The original concept for this title was actually a musical about pirates, but by the time it was finally mounted and presented to the public it was no longer a musical, but a comedic play instead. The play is actually quite funny, at times outright knee slapping fun. Safford's use of finding comedy in wordplay and in various forms of innuendo shows his ability to write solid laughter. From finding the comedic beats to the hysterical punch lines, it is really well written and achieves its main goal- to make an audience laugh - and on opening night there was loud laughter throughout the evening. Some People Call Them Weasels is a mixture of Monty Python meets The Princess Bride meets Gilbert & Sullivan all woven into a very enjoyable evening of comedy. The story deals with two ships: the pirate ship Black Scourge, and the British Naval Ship, HMS Eldritch. Both have at their helms some really intelligent impaired Captains. The Captain for the Black Scourge is actually a beer delivery man who is mistaken as the real Captain. Over at the HMS Eldritch, you have a Captain who brings his own mommy on board and who has more air coming out his head than what lies in the open seas. Within these two ships we meet other various characters and how they all relate to and connect with each other. But, alas, the piece begins to sag in the middle of act one and really begins to lose steam in act two, thus becoming elephantine and taxing on its audience. The play has a bit off more than it can chew with its crowded assortment of subplots and loose ends that take too much time to resolve by the end of the evening, which at Friday's performance clocked in at nearly three hours. This is not helped by the extremely long blackouts or snail like fade outs. The play needs fast, rapid blackouts. The space is extremely small, so no massive set or scenic changes can be done, so the slow fading of lights and lengthy blackouts make no sense, but the pace and energy flow that the cast had created beforehand is hampered. There is another pace problem, causing the production to feel even longer. The male members of the cast have perfect pace - they gave it the adrenaline kick it needs - but the women of the company simply do not keep up with them. They instead take awkward pauses, or show uneven comedic timing. Their delivery feels sluggish, as though they are not as comfortable with the script and its humor as the men were. Which brings me to the main source of the problem within this production: the women of the cast are just not on the same comedic level as their male costars. The ladies' performances seem lackadaisical. This is not helped by some of their diction. It is often impossible to understand what they are saying due to their diction, which is swallowed and garbled. Adding to this problem is the English dialects which come and went. It was a simple case of actresses not connecting with their characters. The casting of the pirates as all women is a tad puzzling. Heading the cast is Ky Cleveland, portraying the beer delivery chump who is mistaken as the Captain of the pirate ship. Mr. Cleveland wears the crown title for thinking on his feet. When a few prop mishaps occur, Cleveland uses his razor sharp wit and comic mind to voice out loud some hilarious ad libs that save the night. The actor possesses strong comedic timing and his stage presence does not once dim, all which allow him to give a hilarious performance. The Captain of the British Ship, Capt. Mortimer Smythe, is played to perfection by Kevin Dobbs. The actor has an impeccable English accent that he never lets drop, not even once. Dobbs also has an elastic face which creates innumerable farcical moments throughout his performance. Dobbs commands a charismatic stage presence that is equally matched by his dead on comic timing and pace as the Captain who also happens to be a momma's boy. Michael Johnson portrays Bulldog, a great comic name that Safford has given to this character since the character is actually a foppish, flamboyant crew member of the Black Scourge. This character could go the route of raging flaming queen (think Jack of Will & Grace), and that would have been funny. But Johnson instead gives Bulldog an air of bitchy Martha Stewart meets Sir Ian McKellen, resulting in a side splitting, scene stealing performance. The actor deliveres his dialogue with a slightly deadpan approach that creates rip roaring laughter every time he steps on stage and utters a line. Johnson's character also has a hook attached to his left hand which is pink and bejeweled, giving the actor a prop to use to enormous comic effect. Even in the background, he still generates laughter with his Dame Edna facial expressions. Johnson is just a riot in this role! Another festive comic performance is provided by Damon Gay as the hungry-for-power First Mate, Vallejo. Gay has created an over the top Spanish accent that has the audience guffawing. Gay's butchering of the English language with this dialect sounds like Ricky Ricardo, Carmen Miranda, and Antonio Banderas after they all took valium. Gay is another actor who provides a first rate comic performance in the production. Kudos also to Pig Thurston and Kevin Riley as well for adding many laughs to the evening. Thurston, as First Mate Breedley, has the audience in constant laughter with his butch demeanor and faultless comic delivery as a loyalist to the seas. The actor also uses his eye patch to full comic potential. Riley has two minor roles. One is the unseen Lafayette, who lives in the crow's nest. The other role is that of the Vicar, the HMS Eldritch's chaplain. This character has only one scene, but both Riley and Kevin Dobbs have perfect comedic chemistry and an exuberant delivery that makes the scene memorable. They both play off the running joke of the Vicar's name like two vaudeville pros. Hopefully, problems like light cues, torpid fade outs, and especially the dawdling pace and energy of the ladies can be cleaned and fixed after the play has had a few more performances under its belt. But all in all, Safford's script is really vibrant and hysterical; it just needs a little cutting and deleting of some of its subplots. This is a script that is indeed worth remounting in the future. As it stands right now, it still is a rollicking show that is aided by a pack of comic male actors that would make the Monty Python men say, "Pick up some coconuts and join us on our crusade!" Some People Call Them Weasels plays the Ridgela Theater in Ft. Worth through July 29th. Call 817-994-7201 or visit boxpresents@yahoo.com Some People Call Them Weasels Cast |
