In Flaming Idiots, playwright Tom Rooney spreads his farcical humor across the stage with a spatula, adding dollops of slapstick, shtick, satire and pure theater humor. Director David Kievit's cast doesn't miss a chance to milk a line 'til the last laugh echoes through the house.
One of the joys (for an actor) in farce is that going over-the-top is the norm. This includes not only a broad delivery of lines but also broad physical articulation. From the opening lines of Gary Panther and Robert Shadbolt (Phil and Carl, novice restaurateurs) the pace never lets up. Former postal employees, they know zip about the business. Panther plays a young man driven by greed; Shadbolt, playing a young man at least three short of a six pack, is his foil. Their enterprise is financed by an unseen gangster with his own agenda. The staff includes waiter Eugene (Dave Rivas), a no-talent aspiring actor with a schnozzola that takes over his face. Rivas sweeps the stage with the elegance of a classic "ham." His attempts at Shakespearean dialogue, which his character can't remember, are hilarious.
Frank Godinez (a master at slapstick) is Ernesto, the gangster's friend, a tyro bus boy with some duties unrelated to the restaurant business. Thomas Fitzpatrick (Horse-cop Task) plays a stereotypical dumb cop. A side shtick is tying his horse to an exterior door. The reins are almost constantly in motion. Jo Garrett plays Jayne, a reporter/columnist/ad salesperson for the local rag. The audience is constantly distracted by her lovely legs and delicate underwear. As overacting is the norm, she plays her role to the hilt, with her best performance as an inebriated lush trying to pick up everybody in the restaurant kitchen.
The chef is Bernadette, played by Melissa Cigainero. Bernadette is deaf, due to a gun-shot blast many years earlier. Cigainero silently gives an excellent performance offering a surprise in Act II. Finally, there is Louie, played by Les Payne. Louie is an aging hit-man, suffering from senile dementia. Payne's performance is pure professionalism as it ranges from low (some say high) farce to superb satire. His every move seems choreographed to achieve the greatest amount of laughter. Payne alone is worth the price of admission.
Playwright Rooney provides delightful bits. One is the moving-body reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Trouble With Harry."
Director Kievit's realistic set includes exterior brick walls as well as the kitchen. Jonathan Claar provides a simple, white lighting plot. Sound designer Michael Shapiro provides good support as his "horse" whinnies and galloping horse effects convince us all there's a stallion behind the open door. (One must assume it's stage manager Faith Obolewicz's duty to provide the whipping reins effect.) Lois Corbett, as usual, provides convincing costumes for this broad, broad comedy.
