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| Brett Dalton, Andrea Syglowski and Eric Bryant. Photos by Carol Rosegg |
When we see a play or a musical, we seldom are aware of what
has gone on behind the scenes before the curtain rises on opening night. Most
theatergoers are not privy to the various rehearsals, including the laborious
and time consuming tech rehearsal (when, among other things, the sound and
lighting cues are worked out) that brings the production to life (or doesn’t,
as the case may be). Well, if you’d like a peek at these goings-on, get
yourself over to the Westport Country Playhouse where Theresa Rebeck’s often
hilarious “The Understudy” is currently being offered. As directed by David
Kennedy, the play is basically a rehearsal where anything that possibly can go
wrong does – theatrically and emotionally – and makes for an enjoyable two
hours (no intermission) that may drag a bit at moments (possibly just a bit too
much discussion of the Kafka mind-set), but has enough high points to easily get
you through the evening.
The opening scene may be a bit confusing for some in the
audience, for Rebeck immediately breaks the fourth wall by having Harry (Eric
Bryant) enter, fire a gun and stroll down the aisle house right. The fourth
wall? Well, when you look at a stage (in most productions), you have stage
left, right and up-stage. Down-stage is usually defined by where the stage’s
apron ends, and the actors “act” as if there is a fourth wall erected there that
is, of course, not there at all, else the audience could not see what’s going
on.
Harry ascends the stage in front of the curtain (this is
called a scene-in-one, which normally allows for set changes). He proceeds with
a monologue that deals with an actor’s frustrations, including gripes about
Hollywood blockbuster movies that require a minimum amount of acting talent and
a maximum number of explosions and other special effects. It’s only when Jake
(Brett Dalton) appears, an actor in the play being rehearsed, that it becomes
apparent that Harry has been venting to an empty theater. Ah, so the fourth
wall really hasn’t been broken…the theater itself is the stage.
Jake challenges Harry’s presence – he’s apparently not
supposed to be in the theater. Harry runs off, the curtain rises and Roxanne
(Andrea Syglowski), the stage manager, appears to begin running the rehearsal.
But Harry is supposed to be there –
he’s Jake’s understudy, and the rehearsal has been called to run him through
his lines and the play’s blocking. There’s one more character, “Laura,” who’s
never seen or heard from, but “Laura” is responsible for many of the laughs the
show delivers, for she is in charge of running the sound (compliments of Fitz
Patton) and light boards, but apparently she is more than one toke over the
line (or often mysteriously absent), so over the course of the evening, sets
(deftly designed Andrew Boyce) roll in and out at inopportune moments, lights
come up or go down with a mind of their own (at one point the theater is
plunged into darkness, forcing the actors to use flashlights), and sound cues
either arrive too early or too late, much to Roxanne’s frustration. Another
unseen character is “Bruce,” the star of the show who makes mega-millions
starring in the blockbusters Harry disdains. It doesn’t take much of a stretch
to assume that Rebeck is alluding to Bruce Willis.
The play being rehearsed? Well, it’s never named, but it’s a
recently discovered drama by none other than Franz Kafka, which allows Rebeck
to offer up a lot of allusions for those familiar with Kafka’s work, from a
castle and a trial with no apparent crime to, yes, of course, a bug. It also
allows Jake, whose main claim to fame is the action films he has starred in
(appropriately, Dalton will be familiar to many as Agent Grant Ward in the ABC
series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), to prove that he’s not as shallow as Harry
thinks he is (a running joke is a line of dialogue – “Get in the truck!” – from
Jake’s last film that Harry taunts Jake with). However, some of the play’s
slower moments have Jake pontificating at length about “meaning” and
existentialism, much to Harry’s confusion.
These are actors rehearsing a play, but they are also people
with outside lives, and this fills out what otherwise might have been a simple
behind-the-scenes story about boarding a play. Jake feigns unconcern, but he is
eager to learn if he’s landed a role in an upcoming film, so he’s often on the
phone with his agent. Dalton’s delivery of his side of these conversations is
excellent, no more so than when his character gets the final call, which he
takes off stage, standing in the semi-dark house right. It’s a subtle yet deft
piece of acting.
As for Harry and Roxanne, they have a history. In fact,
Harry disappeared two weeks before they were to be married, which has left
Roxanne emotionally scarred, a scarring that translates to controlled anger
that finally bubbles over. This allows Roxanne to deliver a pain-filled
monologue late in the show that is, for the audience, cathartic, for those
watching have been waiting for Roxanne to let it all hang out and Syglowski
delivers.
The play is filled with a lot of theatrical “in” jokes that many
audience members got but were lost on others. However, what’s not lost is the
controlled chaos that often occurs during a tech rehearsal as well as the two
different acting styles evinced by Harry and Jake. Jake just wants to deliver his
lines, but much to Jake’s and Roxanne’s growing frustration, Harry is
constantly breaking character to ask for “motivation” or to question the logic
of a scene or piece of blocking. It’s another running joke, often quite
humorous, no more so than, again late in the show, Harry, in character, is
dealing with life and death issues then abruptly stops to once again ask about
motivation. It was unexpected, and after a beat or two, the audience erupted
with laughter.
The actual rehearsals for “The Understudy” must have been
very interesting, for there are so many scripted mishaps and intricate lighting
(kudos to Matthew Richards) and sound cues and scene changes that all seem
wrong and mistakes but are integral to the play that it must have taken a while
for the actors to adjust and become comfortable with the mayhem. After all, in
a “normal” play when you deliver a line about a violent storm descending and it
doesn’t appear, well, you feel naked on the stage; when you’re working with one
set and it suddenly slides off stage for no apparent reason you are a bit
nonplussed.
Putting aside the “slow” moments, which, thankfully are few
and far between, “The Understudy” is a delightful comedy that often borders on
farce, with just a touch of slapstick, and the final scene, choreographed by
Noah Racey, which has Harry and Jake doing a silly dance, is delightful. It
captures, visually, the essential wackiness inherent in the play, a
Chaplinesque answer to the angst, anxiety and darkness that was Kafka’s stock
in trade. Much praise to director Kennedy for grasping all of the comedic
opportunities in the play and coaching his cast to deliver them with style,
grace and a great sense of timing.
“The Understudy” runs through September 1. For tickets or
more information call 203-227-4177 or go to www.westportplayhouse.org
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