Review
Adrift in Macao
59 E 59 Street Theaters (Primary Stages)
March 1, 2007
Morgan Wycks
mwycks@nyconstage.org
It's time for Christopher Durang to graduate from college. Or at the very least
say goodbye to the student productions of his alma mater, the Yale School of
Drama. His latest "entertainment" as he calls them (trifling works whose sole
purpose are to, yes, entertain) is entitled Adrift in Macao, and it's a
parody of film noire in Technicolor. Oh yes, and it's a musical with Mr. Durang
penning the lyrics to Peter Melnick's music. The material is clever and funny
only insofar as a sophomore revue. In other words, it's not particularly clever
or funny unless you're a sophomore. It is lucky for Mr. Durang that he has
Sheryl Kaller as director. She has assembled a wildly comedic cast who works
overtime and succeeds in wringing laughs out of wet chow fun noodles. Orville
Mendoza as Tempura is hilariously politically incorrect with his depiction of an
"oriental" and Michelle Ragusa as Corinna concocts a wonderful mix of Imogene
Coca, Milton Berle and Betty Grable. In the Veronica Lake role, Rachel De
Benedet brings enough truth to the part so that there is something to send up
while Alan Campbell as the enigmatic drifter, Mitch, and Will Swenson as Rick
Shaw, the café owner, are fine but maybe should have switched roles. Ms. Kaller,
ably abetted by choreographer Christopher Gattelli and designers Thomas Lynch
(sets), Willa Kim (costumes) and Jeff Croiter (who seems to be lighting every
show in town) keeps it all zipping by but again, I feel that Mr. Durang has been
commissioned to write something when his heart ain't in it.
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