THEATRE REVIEW: "RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET" @ NEW LINE THEATRE
BY: ANDREA BRAUN, THEATRE ARTS CORRESPONDENT
It would have been fun to see the Olivier Awards ceremony (The British version of the Tonys) in 1990. Return to the Forbidden Planet took Best Musical honors when Miss Saigon was also a nominee. But while Miss Saigon pulls out all the stops in production values—remember that helicopter?—Return to the Forbidden Planet revels in its bargain basement look and ridiculous "Fakespeare" dialogue. Both are based on high-toned source material, Madame Butterfly and The Tempest, respectively, but Miss Saigon takes it all so very seriously and "Forbidden Planet" plays for laughs, which it receives in abundance.
Actually, The Tempest is only one Shakespeare play that is quoted throughout this two-hour romp; chances are, if a line is famous enough you’ll hear it, either in its original form, slightly altered to fit the circumstances or punned ("Two beeps or not two beeps. That is the question," "Never was a story of so much woe as this of Gloria and her Prospero.") If you don’t enjoy puns, this may not be the show for you. I do like wordplay, and these actors and classic rock and roll, so it is the show for me.
The "plot" involves a spaceship which lands on an unknown planet where Prospero (Zachary Allen Farmer), Ariel (Scott Tripp; known in the movie Forbidden Planet as Robby the Robot) and Prospero’s nubile (well, horny anyway) young daughter, Miranda (Tara Lawton). Prospero is grieving the loss of his wife, Gloria (Nikki Glenn) who happens to be the science officer onboard. After a funny nod to the Alien movies, the couple confronts each other. Prospero must also contend with the demons that have led him to discover "telegenesis," a process allowing the development of an "Id monster," a potential doomsday machine.
Director Scott Miller writes in his program notes that the story reflects how many ways we now have to communicate with each other, the breaking down of barriers which we don’t yet know will ultimately result in good or ill. Prospero fails to consider the "moral gray area" of his science.
Tempest (Michael Amoroso) is the ship’s captain, and he’s kind of a combination of Matthew McConaughey and James T. Kirk. As soon as Miranda gets a load of him, she’s a goner. Cookie (Ted Drury) also falls for Miranda, but he can’t compete. He surely can sing though. His rendition of "She’s Not There" shows that all those other Zombies were extraneous. Prospero learns why his wife couldn’t live with him, as well. Glenn’s big voice powers numbers including "It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World," "Gloria" (natch) and more. The crew (Mike Dowdy, Tawaine Noah and Kimi Short) sing backup and channel both girl and guy groups. Sometimes they dance like Pips; other times they provide the "shoops" and "shamalamas" while performing their duties. They’re terrific. Philip Leveling as Bosun has some fine vocal moments, as well, and New Line’s go-to choreographer, Robin Michelle Berger, has provided another original design to enhance our enjoyment of the show.
The spaceship set by David Carr and Jeffrey Breckel, Betsy Krausnick’s costumes (Ariel is especially spectacular from his Slinkies (used as antennae) to his skates, and Miranda has a rocket ship where the poodle would normally be on her circle skirt) and lighting (Hans Fredrickson) are cheesy fun. The sound design by Thom Crain is good too, but the sound itself is a problem. I noticed the same thing with Hair: The mikes are uneven, there was a delay from time to time in adjusting the levels of the hand mikes for particular voices, and that was distracting. I don’t know how much the space may have to do with that, if anything.
The artistic staff is comprised of New Line regulars, and they work well together. As always, a special shout out to Chris Petersen and the New Line Band (Dave Hall, Mike Renard, Patrick Swan, Mike Schurk and Marc Strathman) who I’m beginning to think can play absolutely anything.
Miller takes chances, and they nearly always pay off. My quibble with this show compared to the many others I’ve seen this company perform is that it doesn’t seem to have the heart that I associate with New Line productions. Even though New Line is the self-proclaimed "Bad Boy of Musical Theatre," the audience always has someone to root for. Here, I assume Prospero is the protagonist, but he’s too peculiar to be sympathetic (and I say that even though I believe the Bat Boy elicits our good will). Still that is a minor quibble, considering how entertaining this evening is. "These shadows [do] not offend, as I am an honest Puck," (yeah, that one is there too). See it.
Tickets are available through MetroTix, 314-534-1111 or www.metrotix.com. For information and special deals, visit www.NewLineTheatre.com. Return to the Forbidden Planet runs through May 23, 1009 at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School) 6501 Clayton Road.
