JOHNNY ON A SPOT
Unfortunately, the actors aren’t built to endure such stress, and they begin to malfunction. They interrupt each other and fumble lines. They talk so quickly they become difficult to understand. (Actors refer to the character “Booter” Kusick as “Buddha,” which is especially confusing since he got his nickname by “kicking old friends when they were down.”) They move tentatively, as though unsure of where they’re supposed to be, and when they attempt physical comedy, they look like dancers on the first day of rehearsal, slowly and self-consciously walking through their steps. In short, the faster they go and the harder they try, the deeper this play sinks into the mire.
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Lee Guthrie is loud and unconvincing as a nasty southern belle who has eyes for Nicky Allen. Harry Althaus dithers around as Doc Blossom, the governor’s heir apparent who would rather stay home with his pet birds. (The mechanical parrot that Althaus carries around on his arm in one scene gives a pretty good performance, however.) And Tom Webb gives a sound if uninspired performance as the dim and corrupt Judge Webster.
