[NEohioPAL]Berko review: BRAVO, CARUSO (Ensemble)

[Roy Berko]

‘BRAVO, CARUSO!’ OFF KEY AT ENSEMBLE

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

Playwright William Luce is famous for his one-person
scripts.   His subjects have  included Emily
Dickenson, Charlotte Bronte, Zelda Fitzgerald, Lillian
Hellman and John Barrymore.  In “BRAVO, CARUSO!,’ now
being staged by Ensemble Theatre, Luce takes on Enrico
Caruso, considered by many opera aficionados to be the
greatest tenor of all time, in a two-character script.
  

Caruso was born into a working-class family in Naples,
the 18th of 21 children.  Early-on his mother was
convinced that he had singing talent.  By the time he
was 10, the young Enrico's singing voice was receiving
serious critical attention.

Caruso became a favorite at New York’s Metropolitan
Opera, where he performed 37 roles in 607
performances.  Since his career coincided with the
development of the phonograph, he became one of the
early recording stars.  Earthy, and something of a
clown, the singer was extremely popular, not only as a
singer, but as a personality.   In 1921, when he died
at the age of 48, he was greatly mourned.

"BRAVO, CARUSO!" takes us into the tenor's dressing
room at the Met on Christmas Eve, 1920.  No one knows
that he is about to sing his last performance.

As the tale unfolds, we see the eccentric, preoccupied
and brilliant Caruso manipulating his devoted dresser,
Fantini, into giving him the adoration the performer
so desperately needs. 

Any theatre choosing this script has to have two
superb actors to play the roles.  This is not a script
for the ordinary performer.  It also requires a
director who has the inventive nature to work with the
performers to hold the attention of an audience with a
script that has little action, is very wordy and is
two acts in length.  There also has to be a
sensitivity to developing the needed humor and pathos.
 Unfortunately, Ensemble misses on all counts.

Though they try hard, Bernard Canepari and Pat
Mazzarino can’t pull off the difficult roles.  Neither
is totally believable in their performances.  Canepari
seems so pre-occupied with remembering his lines that
he fails to develop a textured character.  The humor
and the drama get melded together.  Mazzarino plays at
being fay and endearing, but never reaches down into
the real Fantini.  We never understand why he is so
devoted to his master and why he is willing to be the
brunt of the manipulation.

They are not helped by Licia Colombi’s directing,
which consists of coming up with shticks and gimmicks
rather than creating a unified feeling, using the
humor and drama of the script.  How many times can we
be amused by an ironing board being taken out and put
away?  Does having Mazzarino mincing around the stage
really help him develop a meaningful character?  Why
weren’t real food and cigarettes used?  The faking was
just too obvious, especially in a play that has to be
real.

Ron Newell’s fragmented set, Michael Beyers’ lighting
and Casey Jones’s sound effects all work well.  Too
bad the rest of the production doesn’t live up to the
technical aspects.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  One of the most difficult reviews
for a critic to write is one that is generally
negative.  Unfortunately, every once in while, it is
my unfortunate duty to have to do so.   In choosing a
difficult script to perform a theatre has to be sure
they have the talent to direct and perform the intent
and purpose of the script.  Ensemble was over its head
in selecting ‘BRAVO, CARUSO!’

‘BRAVO, CARUSO!’ continues at Ensemble Theatre,
located in the Brooks Theatre in the Cleveland Play
House complex through December 11.  For ticket
information call 216-321-2930.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


	
		
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