The Mandrake
Written by Niccolò Machiavelli
Adapted by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
Directed by Lisa Cantwell
at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark (map)
thru Feb 9 | tickets: $25 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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A whimsical update of 500-year old satire
Commedia Beauregard presents
The Mandrake
Review by Keith Glab
As written by Machiavelli, The Mandrake teeters between farce and satire in an effort to show that the ends justify the means. Commedia Beauregard’s production of this nearly 500-year-old play leans more heavily on the farce in its modern interpretation. Christopher Kidder-Mostrom packs his adaptation with contemporary colloquial language, Arin Mulvaney blends modern dress with Renaissance threads in her vibrant costume design, and Daft Punk folds in with Brian Torosian’s original songs throughout the performance.
The silly, overly-complex plot remains. Callimaco (Mike Newquist) wants to sleep with the beautiful wife of Messer Nicia (Brad Cantwell), a rich old fool who is upset that he has not yet conceived an heir. The hedonistic Liguria (Ellen Cribbs) conceives a plot to get Nicia’s faithful wife Lucrezia (Arin Mulvaney) to consume mandrake root, which will increase her fertility but also kill the first person who has sex with her. Thus Nicia agrees to find a random peasant – Callimaco in disguise – to do the purportedly fatal deed. But convincing the virtuous Lucrezia to consent to the infidelity and supposed murder requires a money-obsessed monk (Matt Beard) and her monk-obsessed mother (Melissa Reeves).
The cast’s realization of these broad characters often goes over the top, beginning with Matt Beard and Lina Chambers’ gratuitously campy opening serenade reminding the audience to turn off their cell phones. But when the ensemble pulls back from indicative acting, such as shoving a character back-and-forth while speaking the lines “back-and-forth” or pointing to their head on the word “mind,” their campy portrayals prove quite enjoyable. Of particular note, Cribbs gives the conniving Liguria great wit and verve, making her character believable as a person despite her big choices. Reeves also nails the self-involved Sostrata in a supporting role.
Lisa Cantwell stages the action to be very physical, which helps carry a first act bogged down by a lot of exposition. This physicality resulted in some issues with props and costumes at the performance I attended. Newquist brilliantly covered an inadvertent drop of his money pouch with an appropriate off-script quip about Liguria going after his money, but when his disguise wig fell off later in the show, all of the actors onstage broke character as they giggled about it. Beard then boldly stepped in to use the forsaken hairpiece in what became his most effective moment of audience interaction and flirtation.
This adaptation of The Mandrake is filled with many such fun moments, from a urine sample provided in an empty jar of Jif peanut butter to a character using pig Latin to tell another character to stop quit speaking in fake Latin to impress a third character. Not all of the moments work so well, but at least the production misses by taking chances rather than playing it safe. The uniqueness of this whimsical re-imagining makes it worth exploring.
Rating: ★★½
The Mandrake continues through February 9th at Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 3:30pm. Tickets are $25, and are available by phone (800-838-3006) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at CBtheatre.org. (Running time: 2 hours, includes an intermission)
Photos by Brad Cantwell
artists
cast
Matt Beard (Friar Timoteo), Neil O’Callaghan (Siro), Brad Cantwell (Messer Nicia), Lina Chambers (Young Widow), Ellen Cribbs (Liguria), Arin Mulvaney (Lucrezia), Mike Newquist (Callimaco), Melissa Reeves (Sostrata)
behind the scenes
Lisa Cantwell (director), Brian Torosian (songs), Ann Dermbach (asst. director, stage manager), Arin Mulvaney (costume design), Michael Trudeau (lighting), Christopher Kidder-Mostrom (translation, set design) , Ali Kidder-Mostrom (set construction), Brad Cantwell (photos)
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