Carnage
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Zsebe, Porter, Foster, Adeli
Photo by Jean-Louis Darville
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By Joseph N. Feinstein
The American Heritage Dictionary defines carnage as "Massive slaughter, as in war; massacre." So how do you make a play entitled Carnage into a comedy? If you're Adam Simon, you team up with Tim Robbins, you have Beth Milles to direct, and V.J. Foster as your lead (Rev. Cotton Slocum). That creates something very special, touching, and, yes, humorous. The play returns to the Actor's Gang Theatre in Culver City after a generation's hiatus, the same as it was, except for some minor alterations in the first ten minutes. The dozen stalwarts in the cast bounce, roll, jump, skip, and dance in the large space this theater provides. And the four piece band, under the direction of Cameron Dye, keeps pace with all the tomfoolery and high-jinks appearing on stage.
"Doomed! Doomed!" are the prophetic opening words uttered by Rev. Slocum as he practices teaching his successor, Tack ( played masterfully by Justin Zsebe), the fundamentals of proselytizing the "Word" before he goes on a fundraising pilgrimage to Las Vegas. "Step two, three, four...then say 'The Lord works in mysterious ways!' Look down when you say 'The Lord works'... and eyeball the crowd when you say 'mysterious ways'." This is only the first of many marvelous scenes to follow in this 2-1/2 hour journey into televangelism.
It's not often you will hear such lines as "I saw the face of Jesus through the legs of a French whore!" or "The damned live in a world of confusion!" When the carnage hits in the form of a bomb blast, the entire community of God's Happy Acre, a mega-church and theme park, is shattered, splintered, and reconstructed. Sibyl Wickersheimer's scenic design gives us hints of the size of this huge complex. The mourning and contrition of the religious community is great yet the humor and light-heartedness prevail. Writers Simon and Robbins would not have it any other way.
Director Milles has the entire cast of lost souls cavorting about the massive stage, and she delivers by keeping the audience interested and amused. Along with preacher Slocum, the followers never lose their faith in the coming of The Rapture.
Alix Hester's costume design is amazing. The almost para-military look of the employees of the theme-park is effective, as is Rev. Slocum's spiffy preacher garb. Francoise Pierre Couture's excellent lighting takes us through happy moments and disasters with equal skill. The three original songs, with lyrics by Tim Robbins and music by David Robbins, with additional music by Cameron Dye and Pierre Adeli, is competent.
The play succeeds admirably as a parable about how televangelism has taken root in our country and still appeals to millions, despite all we know of science and evolution. The ironies, sarcasm, and facetiousness inherent in this subject are given a breath of fresh air in Carnage. It will be playing until March 8 and is worth your time and money!
Carnage, A Comedy, at the Actors' Gang Theatre, 9070 Venice Blvd, Culver City. 310-838-GANG (4264) Plays Thursday - Saturday @ 8:00 p.m.; Sunday @ 3:00 p.m.; Tickets: $25; Students $20. Extended through March 29. Highly recommended.
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