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Spoofs are great. Anything that milks sacred cows makes for great possibilities in theatre. Spoofs of kitsch, though, are a risky proposition. Making fun of something that is already bordering on absurdity can backfire. As an example, look at how poorly spoofs of James Bond do. Spoofing a spoof is repetitious.
In Mixed Company's latest offering, "Pageant," is a funny spoof of beauty pageants. The problem with this concept is that so few people take the Miss America pageant and other glitzy celebrations of patriarchal ideals seriously. "Pageant"'s hook, though, is that the six contestants competing in the Glamouresse Pageant are played by men. These are not men-who-know-they're-men-dressing-in-drag, but six men earnestly playing women trying to live up to the expectations of men's view of beautiful women. They compete against each other in the tried-and-true categories of Evening Gown, Talent, Swimsuit and others, while constantly reminding the audience of just how ludicrous the entire event is. This hook, and its earnest portrayal, precariously balanced, result in a solid performance, though ultimately the one thing missing is a truly overt slam of the situation: the result is a statement of "Isn't this silly," where the stronger textual choice would have been "Isn't this wrong?" The show, simply, solidly, if a bit statically, directed by Jim Linde, is still a worthy effort.
The seven performances in this production range from near perfection to somewhat unimpressive, but even that's all right, since selected members of the audience get to vote on the winner of the pageant, eliciting some sort of critical vengeance. The two strongest "female" performances come from Jeffrie Allen as the overly-well-mannered Miss Deep South and David Jones as the Gospel-worshipping Miss Bible Belt. They are nearly unrecognizable as men, and keep up the difficult charade from start to finish. Mr. Allen's performance, especially during the talent contest, is at turns hilarious and thought provoking.
Very solid work comes from William Badgett as the haughty Miss Texas and D. Scott Withers as the ditzy Miss West Coast. Mr. Withers is one of the least believable looking "girls" onstage, but makes up for that by his sheer energy. The one "man" onstage, Ben Brittain, plays the lounge lizard Frankie Cavalier to the hilt, perfectly balancing his sleazy gestures and comments accordingly. The only regret is his weak singing voice, which does sound like a two-bit crooner, but would have been better if it had been a solid singer playing down, rather than a weaker singer hamming it up.
The two inconsistent performances come from R. Scott Harnisch as the rather plain Miss Great Plains, and Tony Castellanos as the Puerto Rican spitfire Miss Industrial Northeast. Though some of this may be Director Linde's doing, Mr. Harnisch never makes any kind of impression on the audience, missing the differentiating character choice that the other performers use to establish themselves. The result is a performance as flat as Kansas. Mr. Castellanos does a great job of establishing character, despite an accent that has a tendency to migrate, but then seems to lose the energy level necessary to keep this character consistent.
Simplistic but acceptable choreography by Lyman Goodrich did little to enhance the evening, though the movement did keep with the spirit of the event.
Technically, the show is a mixed bag, ranging from a wonderful three piece orchestra directed by valley veteran Jerry Wayne Harkey, to a sound system designed by Al Renzo that makes AM radio sound like a better alternative. Tiia Torchia's costumes are at times right-on choices, and at others seemed like misfires. A.J. Epstein's lighting is good, but misses several opportunities to heighten the glitz of the show. An interesting note can be made about David Anaya's wig design, since the two best performers also seemed to have the best wigs. You're free to make your own correlation from that.
In Mixed Company has been producing interesting shows that would ordinarily not make it to the Valley of the Sun. While this production is not quite as impressive or interesting as last season's "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress," it does have many crowd-pleasing antics that should make the average theatregoer laugh until their cheeks hurt.
Production Details:
"Pageant" Book and Lyrics by Bill Russell and Frank Kelly,
Music by Albert Evans
In Mixed Company, 834-3032
Herberger Theatre Stage West, Phoenix
254-7399
July 24th-August 17th, 1997
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