What the hell is pantomime anyway? Will I be reviewing a game of Charades?
Google to the rescue! But I searched in vain for a definition:
- pan·to·mime [ˈpan(t)əˌmīm] a play or entertainment in which performers express themselves mutely by gestures.
PrideArts mounting a silent production? Um …. I find that unlikely in the extreme
- theatrical entertainment based on a fairy tale and using Slapstick humor, designed for children and family entertainment.
Has PrideArts become a children’s theatre? A venue for family entertainment?! Oi! Tell me ain’t so!
- Pantomime is a production of songs and dancing generally using gender-crossing actors….
Aha! That’s more like it!
- Gender-crossing actors …check!
- Singing and dancing … check!
- Based on a fairy story … check!
- Slapstick humor … check!
Put ‘em together and whaddaya got? Bibbity Bobbity Boo!
But we can’t expect the internet to do all our work for us. It was time for field research. So I pulled up my socks and set out for PrideArts Theatre, wherein I found:
All of the above, sans kids. What I was not expecting was the phenomenon of the SLAPSTICK DAME. Wikipedia helped me there: a British pantomime dame involves portrayal of female characters by male actors in drag, often in an extremely camp style with heavy makeup and big hair, exaggerated physical features [c’mon Wiki, just say ‘big tits’], performing in an over-the-top style.
Oh yeah! NOW we’re on the same page!
OK, are we good with the definitions now? Let’s get to the freakin’ play!
Nanny Fanny (Neill Kelly), despite appearing in none of the fables, had a lead role in THROBBIN’ WOOD, along with her son Silly Willy (Freddy Mauricio). Every time N.F. came on stage [erm… I mean she mounted … erm …entered the stage] we were expected to.…
… Oh yeah! Forgot to mention – pantomime also requires audience participation. We were instructed to yell: “Spank me, Nanny!” each time Nanny Fanny came on stage [oh dear. I did it again!]. Other characters/situations provoked divers reactions.
There. See? That’s the sort of humor you’ll find in THROBBIN’ WOOD.
Pantomime is a Brit thing, and you know those Brits and their idea of humor: vulgar puns, dirty double entendre, indecent innuendo, and other forms of vulgar waggery and unseemly buffoonery. But pantomime requires a bit more than indecorous dialogue, and that’s where the acting comes in! Neill Kelly’s Nanny Fanny was outrageously OTT; her son Willy (Freddie Mauricio) was demonstrably Silly. Bryan Fowler’s Throbbin’ Wood was extremely debonair (though not too bright; but obstetrics was dodgier back then). Kyle Johnson was a perfectly glorious Anal-A-Dale, while Jack Gordon disseminated ecclesiastical good cheer and spiritous libations. I’d sure like to be a fly on the wall during his Confession!
Don’t forget the Villain: Ryder Dean McDaniel had the perfect eyebrows for the job, and he employed them masterfully, the nefarious rapscallion!
Which brings me to the final Merry Man, Little Jonny (Jackson Anderson). Little Jonny was such a disappointment to me: a damp squid; a flash in the pan; a lead balloon. Mind you don’t misconstrue my meaning here! Jackson Anderson was superb, his character indispensable, and his appearance … mm mm mm. Finger-lickin’ good. BUT he never, not ever, no way, no how, NEVER authenticated his name! We were told the appellation was chosen due to his extreme modesty, but still I left PrideArts without being allowed to appraise this crucial nominative characteristic personally.
I won’t go into details about the plot, partly to avoid spoilers but primarily because I’m not certain there was one. But here’s the layout:
Silly Willy (Freddy Mauricio) is telling his mum [Spank me!] about joining the Merry Men with Throbbin’ Wood (Bryan Fowler) — quite understandable, for Throbbin’ is tall, handsome, noble, and possesses … well, THROBBIN’ WOOD! What more couldja want???
If this enticement is insufficient, consider his Merry Men: religieux Triar Fuck (Jack Gordon), renowned archer Anal-a-Dale (Kyle Johnson), and Little Jonnie (Jackson Anderson), of whom we’ve already spoken. See, THROBBIN’ WOOD is kinda like Lord of the Rings in that it features a bountiful cast of strong, handsome, heroic men but is bereft of females … and they consider this a problem!? Go figure….
One imaginational figment was Fairy Glitterous (Danielle Bahn), who periodically appeared onstage for little apparent reason but to bring glitter, bling, and pink tulle into an otherwise fairly monochromatic set. But that’s OK! Everybody needs a little glitter, bling and pink tulle in their lives.
[NOTE TO DIRECTOR: give F.G. a bag of glitter with which to shower the audience …yeah? ….no? just sayin’]
Where was I? ah, the exiguousness of women in THROBBIN’WOOD. So let’s proceed to Maid Marion (Emma Robie), who is a pulchritudinous [isn’t that just the BEST word?!] maiden madly in love with THROBBIN’ WOOD.
Now I just know I’m forgetting someone …. Oh yeah – we need a villain! The Sherriff is flawlessly depicted by Ryder Dean McDaniel [Boooooooo], who is ardently dedicated to, not solely the despoliation of our hero THROBBIN’ WOOD, but also to the inveiglement of Maid Marion. To this end he consigns her to a dungeon for no more malfeasance than rebuffing his advancements.
[REVIEWER’S NOTE] I’m unfamiliar with this style of blandishment … unless M.M.is a rope bunny? …
OK, that’s the cast. Let’s slip backstage to congratulate Director Taylor Pasche and Assistant Caitlin Preuss on how skillfully they herded this bagful of cats. The ambience of many a scene was fomented by music (Music Director Chad Gearig) to provoke an appropriate response to each character: e.g. yelling Spank Me! for Nanny Fanny and Boooooo for the Sheriff. The spiritus mundi of the different scenes and characters is likewise imputable to Scenic Designer Hayley Wallenfeldt. The props were managed by Annaleigh Stone; Jen Cupani and Caitlin Preuss directed Choreography, and Costume Director Victoria Jablonski showcased an abundance of Men in Tights for our delectation.
I close this review with: I once asked a dramaturgic friend: “WTF does a Stage Manager actually do?”, to which they responded “Everything”. Corbin Paulino did everything.
THROBBIN’ WOOD is playing at PrideArts THeatre through December 15.
I RECOMMEND you check it out!
