The Dog’s
Bollocks
by
Michael Dresdner
 |
| Left to right: Terry Edward Moore, Kate Alden, Casey Raiha |
Centerstage
has now established a tradition of presenting English Panto each Christmas
season, and they do it divinely. This year’s delightful entry is Aladdin,
directed by Roger Curtis, and trust me, it’s the dog’s bollocks.
(For you
Yanks out there, “the dog’s bollocks” is a British slang term meaning awesome.)
Pantomimes,
or Pantos, are raucous, riotous, randy interpretations of fairy tales aimed
squarely at families with children, larded with layers of humor sure to hit all
ages, song, dance, and lots of audience participation. The players talk with
the audience, encouraging them to help out, cheer the heroes, who enter stage
right, and boo the villains, who enter stage left.
(Another
note for you Yanks: In this case, Pantomime does not mean silent. After an 18th
century audience clearly preferred the spoken preamble, a mime show’s savvy
producers threw out the silent portion of their two part entertainment.
Somehow, the name pantomime stuck, along with a host of traditional conceits.)
This
year’s offering boasts incredible sets (Steffon Moody), stunning costumes (Deb
Skorstad, Malia Seavy) and wigs (Jonni Whitby, Barbara Peterson), reams of
often hilarious props (Becca Hines, Mary Sawyer, Laura Campbell), clever
lighting (Amy Silvera), lots of songs, and superbly executed dance numbers
(dance captain Katherine Jett) performed by the entire light-footed cast. As
always, the heavy music load is adroitly handled by house musical director and
resident genius David Duvall and his backup band (Andrew Carson, Mike
Eytcheson, Kaarin Lysen, Matt Goodin)
In
addition to the attractive and talented romantic leads, Aladdin and Jasmine (Casey
Raiha and Kate Alden), Pantos typically have certain obligatory characters,
often intentionally played by the opposite sex. For instance, there’s a “male”
cop, PC Pongo, played by a young, sexy woman (the stunning Anna Marie Clausen) who
is costumed so you don’t ever forget it. Abanazar is this iteration’s
personification of evil (Terry Edward Moore ), the Emperor of Cathay (Dale
Bowers) is the blustering, foolish father, and the necessary fairy godmother
this year is a pair of male and female genies (Josh Williamson and Brynne
Geiszler), she in traditional belly dancer garb and he decked out like an
over-the-top disco dude. But my favorite repeat character is the ugly old hag
of a woman played by a rather large male. Artistic director Alan Bryce took the
droll but juicy part of Widow Twankey and made it hilarious. He was but one of
many cast members who got to reel out one-liners filled with subtle innuendo,
bad puns, topical gibes, and locally-aimed insults.
One of
my favorite bits, and one the audience is encouraged to help with, is a mockery
of the song Twelve Days of Christmas where “a partridge in a pear tree” is
replaced by “a bra that is made to hold three.” Don’t even ask what the rest of
the days are, but be assured there will be enough custard pies hurled to
satisfy even the most jaded theatre goer.
If
you’re already a fan of Panto, this one is not to be missed. For those who’ve never
experienced it, be certain to make time in your schedule to go to Aladdin at
Centerstage, and expect what’s possibly the most delightful two hours you’ll
spend this holiday season.
Aladdin
Nov.30
to Dec. 22, 2013
Centerstage
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