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[THEATER REVIEW] Ring Round the Moon at BSC
8.20.06
BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY
RING ROUND THE MOON
by Jean Anouilh
Mainstage
Pittsfield, Mass.
through August 27, 2006
Directed by Julianne Boyd
Featuring Christopher Innvar, Debra Jo Rupp, Jordan Charney, Tandy Cronyn
review by SETH ROGOVOY, critic-at-large, BERKSHIRE LIVING magazine
(PITTSFIELD, Mass., August 20, 2006) -- Barrington Stage is finally in its new home, its new theater, in downtown Pittsfield, and it's a splendid home, a splendid theater, and RING ROUND THE MOON is a perfectly splendid entertainment with which to inaugurate the new space.
The play, which all takes place in the course of one afternoon, evening, and late into one night, runs a little over 2.5 hours but moves along at a steady clip, even with two intermissions, which I quite liked, as it gives one a chance to take a breather and stretch one's legs.
The story is a somewhat subversive take on one of those Shakespearean farces, with bits of Upstairs Downstairs thrown into the mix as well as a modicum of Marx Brothers. The play centers around twin brothers, played with marvelous distinction by Christopher Innvar. There is to be a party, and there is to be much one-upsmanship and role-playing, and as such, the play is something of a celebration of theater itself, which is perhaps why artistic director Julianne Boyd, who directs the play, chose this piece to inaugurate her new stage.
There's not a weak link in the cast, with particular kudos to Jordan Charney as the wealthy Messerschmann, Robert Zukerman, seen earlier this summer in The Collyer Brothers, as the butler Joshua, and Ginifer King as Isabelle. The play gently points out the foibles and hypocrisy of the wealthy, with Hugo, one of the twin brothers, taking it upon himself to expose the "shallow vanities" of the upper class.
If it seems a bit slight and sentimental at this distance, after generations of theater which have taken a much harder, nastier tone toward this sort of thing, that's only because Anouilh was more interested in the craft of theater than politics, and this RING ROUND THE MOON is well-crafted and well-played.
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