One Man's As Good As Another
By HOLLY WALL, 06/03/2009
Exhausting Nightingale production leaves reviewer floored.
Without a doubt, the Nightingale Theater's John Cruncleton is a talented actor and writer.
His most recent original play, One Man's as Good as Another, which opened last weekend, is an exercise in patience--for the audience.
Set in 1932, the tale opens with two small-time crooks, Chick and Zip (Joseph Gomez and Cruncleton, respectively), wandering through the woods after robbing a bank and abandoning their car--and their money--in a lake to escape a police chase.
They encounter a couple of tramps robbing two unsuspecting Johns who tell them to head to Dr. Crow's Medicinal Sanatorium in Hot Springs for a little rest and booze. It's been purported that, at the same time, Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd and his partner in crime George Birdwell are expected to be at that same speakeasy.
Right away Zip is mistaken for Floyd and Chick for Birdwell, and rather than correct the mistake, instigated by Hop Clover Vetch (Sara Wilemon), a reporter desperate for an interview with Floyd, the two assume the outlaws' identities, hoping to gain a little self-gratification.
What ensues is an extraordinary, four-hour-long debacle too convoluted for me to even attempt to translate.
While the play was well-written with intricate details and numerous side-plots, it was entirely too much to sit through in one night. At intermission, one of Nightingale's owners likened the work to that of Shakespeare, pointing out a few similarities: The large cast, the eloquent, if not a bit superfluous, writing style, the structure, the subplots.
But the thing about Shakespeare's work is that, in order to be well-presented, it requires a number of things: a thorough understanding of its text and context by its players, smart blocking and directing, good pacing and a good skimming down.
For me, there was too much standing around and rattling off lines and not enough action. As well, some of the actors went through the lines so quickly and without pause that it was difficult to catch all of Cruncleton's carefully placed nuances. But, had they slowed down at all, we would have likely been there six hours rather than four.
The best part of the entire evening was Erin Scarberry, who played Hop's tightly-wound, prudish sister Button and whose cute and witty delivery was a breath of fresh air.
Another thing I'll say for the play's all-star cast is that they have stamina. While I was practically lying on the floor by the time the thing ended, the players onstage remained as strong and energetic as they had been when they started.
The play continues this Friday and Saturday and next Friday and Saturday at the theater, 1416 E. Fourth St., and you shouldn't have to sit there as long as I did. I can almost guarantee the show will be cut by this weekend. I think the bard realized his mistake when he lost more than half of his audience at intermission. And, while the four-hour version did little to excite me, the play will be really wonderful at two hours.
Show starts at 8pm and tickets are $8.