I Gelosi
Fact is stranger than fiction, and sometimes more interesting. In this production based on the true events of a 16th century Italian commedia dell’arte troupe, I Gelosi, neither the facts or the outrageously fictitious storyline amount to anything, be it strange or interesting, and least of all funny.
Writer/director David Bridel sketches an uninspiring yarn around some ragtag performers unwittingly taking a circuitous route from province paupers to court prestige until political agenda mars their otherwise illustrious careers with infamy and the eventual demise of the troupe. The political atmosphere of the time and the religious tension between the Catholics and the Huguenots compromising the troupe’s artistic vision certainly provided Bridel enough grist to sink his teeth into. Instead, he opts out, gumming up the works with indulgent melodrama, flat, imbecilic characters, and repetitiously flatulent lines “I’ll carve your name on your balls,” that has about as much wit as a deflated whoopee cushion. And that’s one of the better lines.
Dialogue aside, Bridel seems unsure as to which play he wants to tell or even stage for that matter as the direction is contrived and as unimaginative as the text. In the first act a female playwright/actress, Isabella (Paige White) is brought into the troupe by marriage to the company leader Francesco (Albert Meijer). In a time when women were not allowed to perform let alone have their writings read aloud, this radical inclusion is treated in the play with nonchalance. Surely, there would be hilarity inherent in this type of situation, along with some sort of context and intrigue. But no, the only line that so much as grapples with the gender issue is when another woman, Vittoria (Eleanor Van Hest) is thrust into the troupe by her wily charming of their commissioner, the Duke of Mantua (Christopher Tillman). “One woman is a sensation. Two is a scandal.” Too bad the audience never sees the sensational or the scandalous. I’d take either one.
So the play isn’t about Isabella Andreini, one of the first women ever to play onstage. Apparently, it’s about revenge, or so it seems as Francesco has been plotting to use his troupe as a foil and wriggle their way into the court to flout Pope Gregory and the aristocracy. Okaaay. It seems that Francesco is a bit peeved over spending six years as a captive solider in a Turkish prison. His troupe is not easily won over by his lofty ideals seeing as how they are enjoying the fruits of their success. But after they overhear a plot that turns them into expendable pawns in a chess game between the Catholics and the Protestants, everyone jumps onboard. Fine. Politics and religion...how can that NOT be climatic?
It isn’t. The plot goes nowhere fast. There isn’t any dramatic action, there isn’t any climax, there isn’t anything except a bereft troupe, an affair brought to light and a downright sappy conclusion for a play that had a lot going for it if it hadn’t meandered away from the facts. What made this particular troupe interesting historically is lost in the indulgence of cornball repartee and cheesy declarations for love, food, money, and well, revenge. There isn’t even a sword fight, the costumes are atrocious, and the rickety stage set might have been built the night before opening.
There is nothing in this production to boast about. None of the characters are complex, and they really don’t need to be. They do need to be somewhat believable and work well together as an ensemble. Albert Meijer spent much of his time strutting and orating with only stiff, awkward results. Paige White gives a sweet but forgettable performance. Isaac Wade as Guilio is the only one that has any presence at all and generates any emotion like sympathy that his talents are wasted here.
The I Gelosi troupe’s motto was “Virtu, fama ed honor ne fer gelosi,” meaning “We are jealous of attaining virtue, fame, and honor.” None of these idealistic ambitions were realized in this production, and somewhere in Italy the bones of these thespians are spinning in their graves.
I Gelosi
The Powerhouse Theatre
3116 2nd Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(One block east of Main, between Rose & Marine)
Runs through June 14th
Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun at 8pm