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Chico Enterprise-Record (Chico, CA)
July 15, 2004
Section: Features
MARTHA MAYR - Special to the E-R
Court Theatre's dedicated troupe brings seven one-act comedies to life in the uniquely entertaining "All About Ives." The collection of shorts is the third presentation in Court Theatre's summer series. "Ives" runs through Saturday at Wismer Theatre on the Chico State University campus. The plays, all by contemporary playwright David Ives, showcase the actors' impressive versatility. On opening night they deftly worked the laughs out of subtle satire and blatant parody alike.
Just six actors managed to effectively create all 50 characters in the show. With the help of excellent costuming and a few intriguing accents, the players succeeded at making each character distinct. Director Gail Holbrook, a professor in Chico State's Theatre Arts Department, seems to have worked magic on the production. A mirthful "inside joke" tone pervades the entire engaging production. Although directors and actors alike often dread the rigors of comic timing, the Court Theatre troupe makes it look effortless. The subject of each play varies greatly, but they all explore common themes of communication, relationships, art and introspection. Perhaps the most amazing piece is "The Universal Language." Marcus Sams is remarkable as "Don," an instructor for the little-known language "Unamunda" (think Esperanto gone wild). Sams glides through the gibberish language, concocted of a mixture of European languages and commercial catchphrases, as if it truly were his native tongue. Anne Lester plays opposite Sams as "Dawn," a lonely, delicate would-be student for whom language is a hindrance to communication. Lester shines in this role, as do all three women in "Ives," infusing the performance with assured vivaciousness. Ellen Wilcox is also notable as the monkey "Kafka" in "Words, Words, Words," set about the task of re-creating Hamlet through pure chance at the typewriter. Bryan Zoppi and Marcus Sams round out the chimp trio so successfully that by midscene it's easy to forget they're humans playing monkeys. None of the players captures the subversiveness of Ives' wit quite as well as Ashley Monroe, who plays an amazing range of roles. She's hilarious as an Arabian "interpreter" and lovable as the workaday other half to Bryan Zoppi as he rambles through a day imagining himself to be Degas in "Degas, C'est Moi." Even in "Sure Thing," a concentrated version of the movie "Groundhog Day" with hints of Seinfeldian cynicism, she never misses a beat. Nor does Kevin Marr, the bewildered but persistent suitor. Strong Sopranos-esque language in the last piece (a hyperbole-filled tribute to David Mamet) may offend some viewers. Those in search of clever comedy sliced into bite-sized satirical morsels, however, won't want to miss "All About Ives."
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2004 Chico Enterprise-Record. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the
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