2008 Woodie Awards
Theater Review: "All the Great Books (abridged)"
Participatory play includes audience, books
By: LANZ CHRISTIAN BANES
Issue date: 12/8/05 Section: LifeStyle
Testicular fortitude is a must if you think you can condense 89 titles of Western literature into 90 minutes, as the St. Louis Repertory Theatre's "All the Great Books (abridged)" demonstrated.
Unfortunately, though the three-man show had a lot of balls - basketballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, etc. - its admittedly mindless humor and occasional bouts of insight and wit are not enough to make a great evening out of a high school course.
Directed by Reed Martin and co-written by Martin and Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC), "All the Great Books (abridged)" puts the audience in the middle of a remedial high school Western literature class that must absorb the entire syllabus in the hour and a half before graduation. At the podium are stereotypical high school teachers: the temperamental Coach, played by Adam Richman; the flamboyant and excessive drama teacher known as the Professor, played by Craig Baldwin; and the young, backwards cap-wearing Dustin, the hip teacher's assistant played by Dustin Sullivan.
Brought together by the untimely trampling of the regular literature teacher at a J. K. Rowling book signing, the trio bumbles through the course in an attempt to educate their pupils. "All the Great Books (abridged)" is a participatory production, with no fourth wall separating the actors from the audience. The audience and its reaction become integral to the play - at one point, an audience member is even asked to join teachers onstage. Together, with the help of the Professor's "extensive" supply of theater props and costumes, they try to hammer in the plots and major themes of works that range from Homer's "The Odyssey" to Tolstoy's "War and Peace."
Funny and fast-paced, the play is two-part vaudeville to one-part slapstick, with a hint of improvisational comedy - far from boring. Of particular note is the skillful and clever weaving of contemporary social and political issues into the play. In one example, a timid Professor hides behind an onstage American flag, saying if it works for President Bush, it would work for him.
"Red state, blue city?" the Professor then asked, to a round of applause.
It is these early antics that prepare the viewer for something
fantastic.
However, the rest of "All the Great Books (abridged)" seems at times over-written and over-acted. The characters were all just a bit too flamboyant and much too stereotypical, thus making them predictable. Rage is easily induced in the Coach via Dustin's childish pranks. Also, note the scripted "forgotten" line early in the evening, when the trio pretended to have forgotten their next line and stand around in seemingly awkward silence.
The predictability was maddening. Note Dustin's rendition of "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss, "I will not do it on the grass; I will not take it up the - " with the appropriate interruption by the Professor seen coming from a mile away. These interruptions happen all too often and distract from the overall humor of the play.
It's unclear whether Martin himself either wrote in or directed these actors to perform this way. Perhaps it would have been a much tighter production if the play was performed by the RSC actors it was written for. An interesting side note: Martin was a Ringling Brothers/Bailey & Barnum Circus clown for two years.
Though not great, or even particularly memorable, "All the Great Books (abridged)" is not a bad way to get cheap laughs and spend an enjoyable evening. Look for the funny and not-so-funny word play that is the staple of the show. Again, though at times it was too over-written for a near-improv show, it was not badly written. Yet, to paraphrase Rep media person Brad Graham, one might come out of "class" dumber than when one came in. Indeed, it was hard not to feel like one was back in high school, with all of the immaturity it entailed. "All the Great Books (abridged)" is worthy of consideration when deciding what to do on a Friday night.
And, by the way, does anyone besides the writers consider Tom Jones a book?
"All the great books (abridged)"
"All the Great Books (abridged)" by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor will be performed on the Loretto Hilton Center mainstage now through Dec. 30. For more information, visit http://www.repstl.org.
Unfortunately, though the three-man show had a lot of balls - basketballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, etc. - its admittedly mindless humor and occasional bouts of insight and wit are not enough to make a great evening out of a high school course.
Directed by Reed Martin and co-written by Martin and Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC), "All the Great Books (abridged)" puts the audience in the middle of a remedial high school Western literature class that must absorb the entire syllabus in the hour and a half before graduation. At the podium are stereotypical high school teachers: the temperamental Coach, played by Adam Richman; the flamboyant and excessive drama teacher known as the Professor, played by Craig Baldwin; and the young, backwards cap-wearing Dustin, the hip teacher's assistant played by Dustin Sullivan.
Brought together by the untimely trampling of the regular literature teacher at a J. K. Rowling book signing, the trio bumbles through the course in an attempt to educate their pupils. "All the Great Books (abridged)" is a participatory production, with no fourth wall separating the actors from the audience. The audience and its reaction become integral to the play - at one point, an audience member is even asked to join teachers onstage. Together, with the help of the Professor's "extensive" supply of theater props and costumes, they try to hammer in the plots and major themes of works that range from Homer's "The Odyssey" to Tolstoy's "War and Peace."
Funny and fast-paced, the play is two-part vaudeville to one-part slapstick, with a hint of improvisational comedy - far from boring. Of particular note is the skillful and clever weaving of contemporary social and political issues into the play. In one example, a timid Professor hides behind an onstage American flag, saying if it works for President Bush, it would work for him.
"Red state, blue city?" the Professor then asked, to a round of applause.
It is these early antics that prepare the viewer for something
fantastic.
However, the rest of "All the Great Books (abridged)" seems at times over-written and over-acted. The characters were all just a bit too flamboyant and much too stereotypical, thus making them predictable. Rage is easily induced in the Coach via Dustin's childish pranks. Also, note the scripted "forgotten" line early in the evening, when the trio pretended to have forgotten their next line and stand around in seemingly awkward silence.
The predictability was maddening. Note Dustin's rendition of "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss, "I will not do it on the grass; I will not take it up the - " with the appropriate interruption by the Professor seen coming from a mile away. These interruptions happen all too often and distract from the overall humor of the play.
It's unclear whether Martin himself either wrote in or directed these actors to perform this way. Perhaps it would have been a much tighter production if the play was performed by the RSC actors it was written for. An interesting side note: Martin was a Ringling Brothers/Bailey & Barnum Circus clown for two years.
Though not great, or even particularly memorable, "All the Great Books (abridged)" is not a bad way to get cheap laughs and spend an enjoyable evening. Look for the funny and not-so-funny word play that is the staple of the show. Again, though at times it was too over-written for a near-improv show, it was not badly written. Yet, to paraphrase Rep media person Brad Graham, one might come out of "class" dumber than when one came in. Indeed, it was hard not to feel like one was back in high school, with all of the immaturity it entailed. "All the Great Books (abridged)" is worthy of consideration when deciding what to do on a Friday night.
And, by the way, does anyone besides the writers consider Tom Jones a book?
"All the great books (abridged)"
"All the Great Books (abridged)" by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor will be performed on the Loretto Hilton Center mainstage now through Dec. 30. For more information, visit http://www.repstl.org.