Equity actor Michael Doherty (center) is the man in the middle caught between competing gangsters Mia Gatherum (left) and Preston Rowland (right) in the comedy ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ now being performed by the Lyric Repertory Company at the Caine Lyric Theatre in downtown Logan.
LOGAN – The Lyric Repertory Company’s ongoing production of One Man, Two Guvnors is the best show you’ve never heard of, an obscure English farce that is absolutely hysterical.
The show by playwright Richard Bean is a modern adaptation of Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, a late 18th Century work usually performed in the Italian commedia dell’arte style.
Under Texas guest director Jay Stratton, Bean’s adaptation is set in the London underworld of 1968 with interludes of Beatles’ tunes performed by music director Luke Shepherd and his Spotlight combo.
Those tunes, including a couple crowd sing-alongs, set the tone for the show, which featured the most wildly uninhibited cast that Lyric audiences have seen in recent memory.
The plot of One Man, Two Guvnors practically defies explanation, much less comprehension.
When his criminal boss is murdered, hungry but hapless henchman Francis (brilliantly played by Equity actor Michael Doherty) gets involved up to his neck in a failed underworld marriage complicated by multiple mistaken identities.
To finally make some dough, Francis decides to try his luck at working simultaneously for two competing gangsters, while keeping both of them in the dark.
The lovely Bailee Miner is back this year, cleverly playing a dumb blonde once again. As Pauline Clench, Ms. Minor was about to enter into a marriage of convenience with the oh-so light-on-his-feet late crime boss Roscoe Crabbe.
With Roscoe now six feet under, Pauline wants to marry would-be actor Alan (played by recent Utah State University graduate Andrew Moody), who may be no more heterosexual than the late Roscoe.
The marvelous Jack Carter Roberts, playing Pauline’s father, considers his daughter’s choice of an actor to be a step down from a criminal. So he’s overjoyed when Roscoe returns from the dead and the financial dealings behind the marriage can resume.
Only Roscoe is actually his identical twin Rachel (Mia Gatherum) in disguise. Or maybe not identical. I can’t remember and neither can Roberts in an extended running gag.
One Man, Two Guvnors is a blend of slapstick and physical comedy that Doherty performs with manic glee.
The skilled actor tosses the fourth wall out of the window right from the start of the play as he makes comic asides as well as engaging the audience in intimate conversations.
Joining Doherty in a feast of madcap physical comedy that ends the first act are Equity actress Liza Shoell and USU students Ariana Whatcott and Ollie Chieppa.
With his hunger satisfied by that insanely funny luncheon, Francis sets his sights on crime family bookkeeper Dolly (played by Ashlynn Rober) in Act II. The flirty Ms. Rober cleverly lets Doherty pursue her until she catches him.
Doherty also pulls patrons out of the audience, onto the stage and into the action of the play. But are those genuine paying guests or cleverly placed ringers? You get to decide.
In addition to Ms. Gatherum, Doherty’s other unwitting employer is Preston Rowland, who plays Rachel’s old flame Stanley with the appropriately English air of urbane civility.
Other name cast members are Equity actor Brandon Foxworth as Lloyd, a retired button man, and Sumner Jones Shoell as Alan’s father, a shyster lawyer.
The versatile McKenna Walwyn is also on hand playing a multitude of minor comic roles.
Evening performances of One Man, Two Guvnors will continue on July 8, 10, 15 and 20.
All performances will be staged in the Caine Lyric Theatre on Center Street in downtown Logan