SCAPIN
Working from a hip but weak translation and adaptation by Shelley Berc and Andrei Belgrader, Magee has written ten more or less forgettable songs, most of them clumsy spoofs of better stuff; their sole strength is that they’re too brief to slow down Moliere’s mayhem.
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Moliere’s flimsy plot centers around the wily servant Scapin, a rogue who shrewdly serves his own interests by aiding two unhappy young men whose love interests go against the wishes of their selfish, greedy fathers. Then, playing both sides against the middle, Scapin extorts cash from the gullible dads (not much scheming for commedia, considering that’s basically all he does). Then, as Scapin is about to be exposed, he’s rescued by the wild coincidences of a whipped-up happy ending.
As skilled as Lehman is at choking laughs from a crowd, he shouldn’t have to carry the show as much as he does. Except for Matthew McDonald’s splenetically stupid performance as the miser father, Craig Kinzer’s staging offers too little comic support for Lehman’s flights of whimsy and too many forced gags. As the desperate, wimpy young men, Phil Johnson and David Bonanno are efficient but uninspired, their efforts more forced than combustible. Cynthia Cook has pert fun with her brief scenes as one of the missing daughters, but Carlton Miller as the other sports a “gypsy” accent that disappears within seconds. She’s clearly sharper at singing than comedy. Backing up the undistinguished score are Larry Mohl on guitar and smoothly proficient Mark Weston on keyboards (which include a nearly inaudible harpsichord and a hokey accordion).
