[NEohioPAL] Rave for "The Man Who Came To Dinner"

[Bernadette Hisey]

 ClevelandJEWISH NEWS
 
 Comedy classic at Ensemble remains funny and fresh
Published: Friday, October 9, 2009 1:10 AM EDT
Reviewed by FRAN HELLER
Contributing Writer

When a small theater thinks big, something wonderful can happen.

Case in point is Ensemble Theatre’s bang-up production of the George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart comedy classic “The Man Who Came to Dinner.”

The play may be a 1930s relic, but the show kept me smiling and chuckling throughout. Two of the many reasons are director Brian Zoldessy’s streamlined adaptation (from three acts to two) and James Kisicki as the irascible, larger-than-life protagonist Sheridan Whiteside.

In an age of two- and three-character plays, “The Man Who Came to Dinner” is teeming with almost two dozen characters, played by 18 actors, only two of whom are Actors’ Equity. Zoldessy’s brisk pacing and innovative staging coalesce into a true ensemble piece that is a joy to watch.
 
Though the play’s topical references are dated, the eccentric characters, barbed wit, and frenzied nonstop activity remain as funny and fresh as ever. Little wonder that the farce is one of the most frequently revived of all American comedies.

The zany plot centers on Whiteside, a famous radio personality who has slipped on a patch of ice and presumably broken his hip on the doorstep of the Stanley home in Mesalia, Ohio. It’s Christmastime.

Forced to convalesce in the family domicile, it isn’t long before the im- perious, egomaniacal Whiteside commandeers the entire household, including his hosts, their children and the servants to do his bidding.

When his longstanding private secretary Maggie falls for Bert, owner and editor of the local newspaper, a jealous Whiteside tries to disrupt the relationship, using the vampish actress Lorraine as distracting bait. But Maggie persists, forcing a change of heart in her tyrannical boss, who, in a rare moment of kindness, helps Maggie keep her man.

As the play begins, we hear Whiteside before we even see him, delivering a barrage of insults to his harried nurse and flustered doctor offstage. The comedy shifts into high gear with Whiteside’s dramatic entry in a wheelchair. A steady stream of strange visitors, including a pair of cuffed convicts, and even stranger gifts, such as an octopus and four penguins from Admiral Byrd, add to the mayhem.
Kaufman and Hart dedicated “The Man Who Came To Dinner” to their friend, the renowned drama critic and radio personality Alexander Woolcott, after whom they modeled Whiteside’s outrageous character.

The play is a satire on celebrity worship. All of the Ohioans are mesmerized by the presence of a popular icon in their midst, no matter how badly they are treated. It also lampoons would-be writers like the doctor and the journalist, who latch on to the rich and famous to promote their own ambitions.

As Whiteside, Kisicki is the comic linchpin that holds the farce together, spewing withering one-liners in rapid succession like popped champagne corks. Holding center court from his wheelchair, Whiteside’s acid wit drives the comedy at all the other hapless characters’ expense. His face furrowed in displeasure or animated with Mephistophelian glee, Kisicki galvanizes the pivotal role in a memorable tour de force performance.

Susan Lucier epitomizes the efficient and hardened secretary Maggie, the only person who is not intimidated by Whiteside’s bluster, which is why he hates to lose her.

Eileen Canepari captures the glamorous and vain superstar Lorraine, who beds her way to the top. Greg Violand does a delightful turn as the flamboyant, egocentric Beverly, a globe-trotting English writer modeled after Noel Coward. With tousled hair, manic leer and lunatic behavior, director Zoldessy is a shoo-in for Banjo, a famous Hollywood comedian and amalgam of the Marx brothers, after whom his character is modeled.

Don Mannarino plays the naïve Bert, all too willing to sacrifice the girl he loves for the chance of fame. Bobby Thomas is extremely funny as the obtuse Dr. Bradley, who misdiagnoses Whiteside’s injuries by looking at the wrong X-rays. Jeanne Task is excellent as Harriet, Mr. Stanley’s strange sister with a mysterious past.

Some of the funniest lines are reserved for the hopelessly beleaguered nurse Miss Preen, delivered with smoldering understatement by Sharmon Sollitto. Preen trades helping humanity for a job in a munitions factory. She tells Whiteside that if Florence Nightingale had ever nursed the likes of him, she would have married Jack the Ripper instead of founding the Red Cross.

Martin Cosentino’s setting of the well-appointed Stanley living room, John Ballom’s period costumes, sound designer Corby Grubb’s incessant doorbells and telephone rings, and Walter Boswell’s lighting enhance the production immeasurably.

Witty, Depression-era comedies like “The Man Who Came to Dinner” provided an escape valve for audiences to forget their troubles. Seventy years later, it’s a perfect and perfectly hilarious antidote for today’s equally challenging times.

As Ensemble Theatre’s new artistic director, Bernard Canepari continues the artistic vision of the theater’s founders, Lucia and Licia Colombi. It’s a notable start.

WHAT: “The Man Who Came to Dinner”

WHERE: An Ensemble Theatre production in the Brooks Theatre at The Cleveland Play House

WHEN:  Through Oct. 25

TICKETS & INFO: 216-321-2930 or www.ensemble-theatre.com



      
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